


How The Sakuras Bloomed

by Pink_Skeleton_Pirate



Category: One Piece
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 49
Words: 55,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23181958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pink_Skeleton_Pirate/pseuds/Pink_Skeleton_Pirate
Summary: This is my first story on here thanks for reading!
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story on here thanks for reading!

PROLOGUE 

This story starts with the Pirates of Broken Time.

It was a seemingly fine day, the sun was shining and the sky was clear. There's a ship- a pirate ship called the Shiversnake- drifting in the waves. The ship's captain- Bazil- is watching over his pregnant wife Mirage while the crew does their daily chores. As the day goes on a storm starts to form in the distance. The winds shift and the storm blows towards the ship, but the crew doesn't realize until it's right on top of them. 

After the storm passes the crew is left with nothing but a few barrels of fresh water and a basket of fruit, which they all agree is to be rationed out. This only lasts for around a week before they run out of supplies and are left hopeless, though most the crew worry about the pregnant woman on board more than they worry about themselves.

As the sun is rising on the second day with no supplies a large ship approaches the Shiversnake, and its captain calls out "Are you all still alive down there?" The strange man's question is answered by a cacophony of grunts as Bazil stands to get a proper look at him. This strange man looked kind but still he was cautious, they were pirates after all. Bazil tells the man about the storm and to his surprise the strange man offered to help them get back on their feet.

They stop at the nearest island and the strange man has his crew load Bazil's ship with all the supplies they might need while the doctor made sure everyone was fine. The Broken Time crew sets up a small camp just past the shoreline and move Mirage into tent after the doctor gave her the O.K. to do so. Bazil thanks the man for all he has done. The man tells them it was nothing before he and his crew set sail once again, disappearing into the horizon.

A week later Mirage gave birth to a baby boy. They name him Glaceir, and both her and Bazil decide to get the Jolly Roger of the man who saved them tattooed to their child's back, as a sign of good luck and hope for the future.


	2. The Seed Is Planted

It has been eight months since Glaceir was born and the Shiversnake was making her way through the seas once more. While the crew seemed much more jovial now that there was a baby on board something just didn't sit right with Bazil. Mirage had become secluded after having a child, eating in her cabin and only ever coming out to use the restroom. She had also started making weird calls and if anyone got close enough to listen she would yell and shoo them away. Bazil came to be suspicious of what his wife was up to, but he would not let himself act upon these suspicions, a decision he soon learns was poorly made.

It was the middle of the day when it happened. The Shiversnake was surrounded by Marine ships and the crew was freaking out. Bazil holds Glaceir close, scared of what was going to happen. A Marine boards the Shiversnake and Mirage snickers, mumbling about how she was the reason the Marines were there. Angered by her betrayal, a member of the crew throws her over the railing and into the ocean before watching her sink below the waves, never to be seen again.

*Switch to Marine P.O.V.*  
After watching a man through his crew mate overboard I walk over to the ship's captain, who was cradling what appeared to be his child. He looks at me and my heart nearly breaks in two. He's crying, having not only just lost his wife, but learning that she betrayed him. Before I have the chance to even say anything he hands me the child, asking me to take good care of him, telling me the child's name. He knew that we were here to take the kid, and I felt shame. Shame in the Marines for what was happening. 

As soon as I had the child I boarded my ship, absolutely disgusted with myself. It pains me to see a family be torn apart, even more so since it's partly my fault. I take the child to my cabin and set him on the bed while giving the navigator orders to set sail to the Marine facility on Cinaplume Island.

By the time I wake up in the morning we have already arrived. "I feel like shit..." I grumble as I roll out of bed, picking the child up carefully. I leave the ship and head to my superior's office where a man was waiting to take the kid from me. I wait till the man is gone before sitting in a chair and groaning. My boss senses my distress."I'm sorry you had to do that Lomey, I'll try to pull some strings and see if I can get you a raise or some days off or something, ok?" I grumble at the nickname but nod, before getting up to get back to work. As I walk down the halls I send a silent prayer to the poor, innocent child.


	3. Guardian of Regret

It's been nearly a year since we took the kid and I've done my best to keep an eye on him. That task was made easier because my boss managed to get me promoted to security. I hate seeing the way the kid gets treated by both the marines and other prisoners, but there's nothing I can do now to change it, but I can guarantee that if it were up to me the kid would be returned home. Shame still holds strong onto my soul, and regret lingers in my mind.

It has been two years since the kid was taken and the Marines have decided to move him to a 'safer' facility. Only Marines the kid trusted were allowed to move him otherwise the kid would freak out, my job being to monitor them via Den Den Mushi, and for awhile everything was going smoothly. About half the way through the Den Den Mushi is absorbed in blue flame and the Transfer Squad starts to panic, then the screen goes black. I try contacting the Transfer Squad, only to be met with dead silence. I reach for my fifty ton hammer and run out to where the communication dropped, but all I found was the Squad slaughtered. Desperately I look for the kid, eventually finding him hiding in a bush with the most terrified look I've ever seen on someone so young. I call for backup and do my best to comfort the kid, passing him to the doctors when they arrive.

*Switch to Bazil's P.O.V.*  
Three years. It's been three years since my child was taken from me. For three years my crew and I have plotted and planned on how to get him back, on how to bring him home. I met a pirate, one named Akagami Shanks, and by some miracle managed to convince him to aid us in our endeavor. The plan is to sneak our way onto Cinaplume Island and attack the Marine Facility there from all sides. Shanks will take post at the bay nearest to the island's lighthouse so he can take Glaceir away from there. After making sure everyone remembers the plan the crew goes to gear up, for this may be the most dangerous battle the have ever fought, and there is no room for failure.


	4. Fight or Flight, A Familial Storm

My men and I storm the base, taking the Marines by surprise. We fight our way through the base defenses and when we finally get in we split up to cover more ground, I give an order to free any other prisoners we stumble upon during our search. I end up alone, running through a dark corridor. While running a door opens and someone grabs my arm, pulling me into a room. When the door shuts whoever holding onto me lets go and I finally get a good look at them. After a brief moment I recognize the man, he was the Marine from that day three years ago. 

The man seemed to be busy looking at a screen, I don't know what for so I look around. The door was labeled 'Security' which explains the screens. The Marine calls me over and shows me footage of a certain cell, one containing a small child. He hands me a map of the building and apologizes for what the Marines have done. I give an appreciative nod and thank him for his help before returning to my run through the corridor. Two figures join me, my older brothers Ein and Sci, as I tell them what the Marine told me.

We run for two minutes before making it two Glaceir's cell. Ein grabs onto the cell door and rips it off it's hinges, leaving Sci to grab Glaceir. The sound of Marines approaching gets louder so they start running in one direction while I go the other way as a distraction. The Marines fall for the distraction and come after me while my family escapes, every once in a while I fire a shot over my shoulder to keep their attention. Eventually I reunite with my crew and give the order to leave.

*Switch to Shanks' P.O.V.*  
I watch the exit for any sign of movement, waiting for the people I was told to look for. Suddenly two men run from the exit, one carrying a child, but something feels off, and that's when I see it. Two Marine snipers hidden in the nearby foliage. Before I can call out a warning there's a loud 'crack' and the two men fall to their knees. Yasopp raises his gun and takes a shot at the snipers, each bullet hitting its mark.

After we confirm there is no other threats I jump up and race over to where the two men lay, hoping it wasn't too late to save them. It became quite clear that there was no way to do so, as both bodies lay still, unmoving. I immediately check to see if the kid was okay. The kid was still breathing but he looked terribly beaten up; swollen eyes, cuts, bruises, etc. I pick the kid up and he mumbles something along the lines of "uncle" under his breath before clinging to my shirt and falling unconscious. Racing back to the ship I call for a doctor to look over the kid's wounds properly and give the order to set sail.

As soon as we were far enough from the island to lower our guard I called Bazil and reported the two men's deaths and that we successfully made it off the island with his son. I asked him what to do next and the only thing he says is "Take him to Dawn Island" before hanging up.


	5. Child Care Is Difficult

The kid has been moved from the med bay and into my room so I could keep an eye on him. It's been maybe a day and a half and there's been no contact from Bazil. I've heard murmurs among the crew about what we were gonna do with the kid if he wakes up before we get to Dawn Island. It's not that they hated the kid or anything, it's just that they weren't sure how he was going to react to waking up in an unfamiliar place. I thought that with the severity of the wounds he had he wouldn't wake up for a week, so I wasn't all that worried.

Three days. We've been sailing for three days and the kid wakes up. The kid looks around for a second while trying to get his bearings and when it clicks that he's in an unfamiliar place with a bunch of people he doesn't know he panics and tries to make run for it. He makes it past the door and out onto the deck before realizing that they were surrounded by water, in which he decides to try and climb the mast to escape me and my crew. He gets halfway up the mast before clinging tightly to it.

The kid spends the next four days running and hiding from everyone and it's fair to say that nobody wants to deal with him anymore. The kid hasn't eaten anything either since he woke up and that has everyone concerned. A lot of us are sleep deprived because the kid is pretty loud at night. 

Eventually we reach Dawn Island and I think everyone feels a bit of relief. After dropping anchor the kid runs off the ship and into the town. The crew seems a little sad to see him go, probably because he did throw a bit of excitement into each day. We all head to the pub to get some well needed drinks.

*Switch to Glaceir P.O.V.*  
I watch the pirates from my hiding spot behind a barrel. The crew's captain seems to be excited that he doesn't have to deal with me anymore, can't say I blame him though. I'm a monster who brings bad luck with him wherever he goes. As soon as the pirates are out of sight I leave my hiding place and wander around, confused as to where I am. I do my best to avoid the locals because I really don't want to start any issues right now.

*Switch Back to Shanks P.O.V.*  
I talk about the kid to the barmaid while my crew gets their drinks. The woman seems interested about him, so I tell her what happened and how he came to be on our ship, leaving out the majority of the raid on the Marine Base. I warn her to watch out for marines coming this way because the kid was some sort of precious resource to them or something and she just nods, not really understanding how the kid feels but feeling empathetic nonetheless.

After a few hours of drinking we pay the barmaid and wave goodbye to the town. We all notice the kid watching from the back of the crowd as we board our ship and get ready to set sail. We all feel slightly bad because the kid looked kinda scared. I write a letter to inform Bazil that Glaceir has been dropped off and I have a News Coo deliver it. I just hope that Bazil actually made it off Cinaplume to receive it.


	6. Break of Dawn

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

It's been two days since the pirates left the island and I'm still trying to avoid the townspeople. During the day I hide in the nearby forest and at night I wander around, looking for food. Some nights there will be a plate of rice or a bowl of soup left out for me, other nights I have to scrounge for fruits or food scraps and I've been getting water from a stream near my makeshift camp. I try to avoid going into the water because it make me feel really tired.

After nearly a week of hiding I decide to go into town during the day, although I do so hesitantly. As I walked people would wave and say hi to me, and I'd wave back because that's the polite thing to do. I know my clothes are ripped and I'm probably pretty dirty, that's what's bound to happen when staying outside. I head to the pub where the pirates were at before they left. The people in the pub look at me when I opened the door and honestly it made me anxious. Regardless of how anxious I was I still walked over a table and scrambled into a chair. The lady behind the counter brings me a glass of milk and asks if I want something to eat. I nod and she brings me a sandwich. I rustle through my pockets and pull out a few silver coins to pay for the food and the lady tells me to keep my money, saying that I need to save it for other things.

After finishing the sandwich I wave goodbye and continue my walk around town, not really looking for anything in particular. I stumble upon a clothes shop, and remembering the poor state of the clothes I'm wearing, I go inside to have a look. I'm amazed by the amount of colors I see and how nice they all are. I pick out a grey tank top and camo shorts and after I pay the nice person behind the counter gives me a backpack to carry stuff in. I wave goodbye and look for a place to find some food to bring back to my little camp. 

I visited quite a few shops during the day and I was back by the pub again, resting. The townspeople start gathering as a Marine ship pulls into the harbor and a man gets off the ship. I feel the terror building in my heart as he walks closer, and upon seeing me he demands to know which family I was apart of. The nice lady from the pub puts a hand on my shoulder and tells the man that I was her nephew, which is a lie, but the man believes her and leaves me alone. I hide in the pub until the man leaves before breaking down in tears and thanking the lady for not telling the Marine who I really was, even though she didn't know who I am. The townspeople smile and giggle a little when the lady tells me not to worry anymore, because I'm never going to have to go back to them ever again.


	7. 1/2 chapter: Poor Boy’s Gift

It's been two days since the nice lady helped me hide from the scary Marine man and I'm trying to find a way to thank her. There's not much I can really do since I have no money, so I sit and I think. I think and I think and I think. Then I get an idea. I get up and grab my backpack, tossing food, water, a jar, and a small wooden chest into it before running off into the woods.

I start picking up pretty rocks that I find on the ground and put them into the wooden chest. When I find nice flowers I pick them and put them in the jar. I stop to eat a snack before walking back to camp.

When I get back to camp I write a note and put it in the chest with the rocks. After I'm done I bring the wooden chest and flower jar to the pub where the lady works and leave them for her to find. Then I run home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a small filler tidbit that wasn't really necessary but I really wanted to write because it shows a bit of how Glaceir thinks as a kid.


	8. Two Captains Tell Different Stories

It's been a year since I was dropped on Dawn Island by pirates. Halfway through the first year the barmaid- whose name is Makino- offered to let me live with her, which was an offer I accepted. I don't do much except help with simple chores like scrubbing dishes or taking out the trash. Today is my day off though so I'm down at the docks instead of the pub. I like watching the water, and if I'm lucky I'll get to see a ship dock on the bank. There are two ships docked today, The Red Force and the other one I don't recognize. I wave when I see the man who left me here and one of his crewmen nudges him and points to me. He turns and waves back, probably happy to see me. Knowing that I'll see him later at the pub I decide to check out the other ship at the docks.

It's around midday when I walk into the pub, visibly upset. Walking over to a table in the corner I scramble into a chair. I keep my head down, not really wanting anyone to know that I'm crying.

*Switch to Shanks P.O.V.*  
When I hear the door to the pub open I turn to look at who came in, and when I see that it's the kid I was going to say hello, but I notice he's upset so I stay quiet. I glance at Makino who just shrugs. I get up and walk over to the table the kid is and sit down next to him. I hear him sniffling and ask him what's wrong. He tells me that the captain of the other ship called him a "Shark toothed, broken, scarred, devil fruit using monster." 

After those words leave his mouth the pub goes silent. I look at Benn then back at the kid and pick him up. I tell him that his teeth make him look cool, that his scars prove that he is a fierce warrior, and that having a devil fruit makes him strong. Every time I say something good about him he looks a little bit happier and by the time I finish he's smiling. 

The kid spends the rest of the day hanging out with my crew and I on the Red Force. Most of the time he's just exploring, though he does sit next to me and listen to all the stories I have to tell. Yasopp tells him some stories as well. The kid says he has something to show us and we all look at each other as the kid lifts his shirt a little. On the lower part of the kids back is a tattoo of a Jolly Rodger that I'm quite familiar with. He smiles, saying that the tattoo is his good luck charm. Benn asks the kid if he wants another tattoo, one of my Jolly Rodger, and the kid's eyes light up. After nearly an hour a bandage is placed over the finished tattoo.

After the crew decides to stay another day on Dawn Island it is also decided that the kid will stay the night on the ship. We let Makino know and get a bed set up for the kid.


	9. How Life Changes

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

After staying overnight on the Red Force with Akagami and his crew and hearing all their stories I feel much better. The things Akagami told me at the pub still linger in my mind and each time I think of them I guess I start feeling a little more confident that I'm the best me I can be, not the monster that the man told me I was. I'm happier, calmer, more at ease than I was before, and I think the townspeople can tell. While walking through town I stop and help people who appear to need it, smiling more than usual. I play a little, drawing in the dirt with a stick, and for the first time in a long time, I daydream.

That night when I go to bed instead of being plagued with nightmares I dream. I dream of living. I dream of sailing the four seas on a ship of my own with a small crew of people. I dream of marvelous adventures on every island I come across and all the people I'll meet. I think that the most important thing that I dreamt about that night though was family, or something close to it.

I sleep till noon the next day, which is probably the most amount of sleep I've ever had. When I do wake up I feel refreshed, like I have enough energy to take over the world. After rolling out of bed I head to the kitchen to see if there were any leftovers from breakfast. I smile when I see that Makino made me some sandwiches. Waddling over to the table I crawl into a chair and eat. 

After finishing what I guess was lunch I start making my way towards the pub, wanting to catch up on my chores. I rush through the front door and into the back, greeting people as I pass by them. The first thing I do is take care of the trash, which was close to overflowing. Then I move on to doing the dishes in the sink. I help wait on tables and clean up the messes that the drunks leave. There's a smile on my face throughout the whole day, I'm a bit more polite than usual, and my attitude has improved overall. The thought that runs through my head so persistently throughout the day is "Maybe life isn't so bad after all..."


	10. 1/2 chapter: Forest Friends

I'm trekking through the forest as I usually do, looking for herbs and collecting shiny rocks when I spot a movement in the bushes around me. Pretending like I didn't notice, I move to a different area. Whatever was moving before follows. Not liking the thought of being stalked I reach for a stick and turn suddenly to jab into the bush. Whatever is in it shrieks, frightened to be attacked. When I take a closer look I realize the the thing in the bush is a little boy, no less then maybe five years old. I toss the stick aside and reach out my hand as an offer to help him up, and he hesitantly takes it. With a gentle tug the boy is standing again. I then introduce myself and ask him if he's hungry.

After setting up a place to eat a snack I ask the kid why he was following me. The kid shrugs, saying that he didn't really have a reason. I nod, somewhat understanding since I myself used to do the same to others. I offer the kid something to eat, and he takes it but not before asking why I'd offer food to a complete stranger. My response to that question was a simple "Because I want to" and with that he gives me a slightly suspicious look and takes the food.

We spend the rest of the day talking, whether it was me telling stories or the both of us discussing fighting and hunting tactics. At the end of the day we go our separate ways, and I barely just remember to catch his name. With a small wave the kid heads back into the woods and I toward home. I think to myself that I wouldn't mind meeting Ace again.


	11. Bounce Boy

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

Im thirteen now and life is kinda ok. Seven years ago a marine showed up and just.... just left a child here on the island and I've tried to take care of him ever since. The kid's name is Luffy, and he's pretty energetic. He seems to be more energetic now that he's hanging out with Akagami, who had stopped by recently for a visit. Akagami sneaks me a drink while I work-an act that's much appreciated- while Luffy talks to his crew, and eventually I just stopped paying attention to him and went back to work. Even when some mountain bandits stir up trouble I just tune it out, knowing very well that Akagami can handle things.

It wasn't until Akagami and his crew start panicking that I realize that something is wrong. I rush around the counter just in time to see Luffy's legs stretch and his face hit the floor. I stopped and stood still. He stretched. His body stretched, like a rubber band. My face goes pale as I realize what happened. Luffy ate a devil fruit.

I must've yelled at Akagami for five minutes before Luffy managed to convince me to calm down. I go back to work and Luffy decides to go play outside for a little. After questioning Akagami as to what devil fruit Luffy ate I started to work out a plan to training him how to utilize it, once again spacing out, shutting out the noises around me.

When people start rushing out of the bar I snap back into reality. Wanting to know what was happening I follow the crowd, pushing my way to the front. A rage starts to build at the sight of the bandits from earlier threatening Luffy, but Akagami seems to already have a handle on the situation so I stay back. I watch as Benny smacks down bandits with the butt end of his musket, a slight smile growing on my face.

The smile soon disappears when the bandit's leader throws a smoke pellet, creating a thick fog to aid in his escape. When the smoke clears and Luffy and the bandit are gone Akagami starts to freak out. He orders his crew to search for Luffy, and I run off to look on my own, checking every nook and cranny I can think of.

When I hear one of the crew call out that the bandit took Luffy out to sea I panic. I run to the docks, praying to whatever god that resides above to keep Luffy safe, an unlikely circumstance due to two things, the fact that Luffy can no longer swim, and the always hungry Lord of the Coast.

I watch Akagami swim to save Luffy from the Lord of the Coast from my place on the docks. Benny had taken a small row boat out to pick the two of them up afterwards and as they get closer to the shore it hits me that Akagami is now missing an arm and Luffy is visibly very upset about it. When the small boat reaches the dock I rush over and pick Luffy up, holding him close and trying to calm him down. Benny is helping Akagami up and out of the boat and over to a doctor to patch up what's left of Akagami's arm.

When it comes time for Akagami and his crew to leave I stand at the edge of the beach while Luffy says goodbye at the docks. I watch as Akagami gives Luffy his Strawhat, and a slight smile starts to grow on my face. Luffy's dream just got bigger, and I'm gonna make sure that he achieves it. Not because I think that he can't do it alone, because I know he can, but because I want him to know that I care, which I'm sure he does know, but still. It feels nice to know that neither me nor him face the world alone.


	12. Moving In

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

Shortly after Akagami left Dawn Island Luffy's grandfather, Garp, showed up to visit. After learning of Luffy eating a devil fruit he was reasonably upset, though what really pissed him off was Luffy shouting that he wanted to be the Pirate King. Garp gave Luffy the good ol' fist of love before turning to me with the intent to deliver it to me, though it musta clicked in his head he probably shouldn't because he lowers his fist and starts cursing Akagami for tainting his grandkid. I chuckle a little before checking on Luffy to make sure he wasn't hurt to badly.

Garp announces that he is going to take Luffy to be raised by some Mountain Bandits he knows and I tell him that wherever Lu goes I go with a defensive but challenging tone. He shrugs me off before picking Lu up and walking off. I follow close behind, glaring Garp down from behind while going over every possible scenario in my head just in case we need to run. Luffy struggles against Garp's hold, hitting him as hard as his tiny form will let him. I hear a noise in a bush that makes me nervous and I cautiously reach for the dagger in my pocket. Eventually whatever caused the noise leaves and I relax a little.

Eventually we reach the place where the bandits live and Garp sets Lu down and knocks on the door. From behind the door I hear someone cursing and threatening whoever knocked, apparently not knowing that it's Garp. When the door flies open a woman with an angered expression yells at Garp, soon realizing her mistake she apologized. There's a brief introduction before I let Lu wander around, following close behind him in a bit of a protective matter while simultaneously not paying any attention at all. 

When Lu starts yelling about a spitball to the face I look around, eventually spotting a boy in a tree. I recognize the boy as Ace, who I met a couple years ago (but haven't seen since). I wave, hoping he might recognize me, and he must since he nods, though it's barely noticeable. Lu starts yelling again, though this time he's trying to make friends with him. Ace runs off and Lu looks as if he wants to race after him. Knowing how dangerous this forest is when you aren't aware of what dwells within I grab onto Lu's shoulder and try to distract him by offering to show him a pond full of fish where we could get something eat. Lu's eyes light up and I know the distraction worked and I lead him to pond.

After eating I take Lu on a tour of some of the safer places within the forest. When the sun starts to set I lead Lu back to the bandit's house. The bandit's leader tried scolding Lu for being out till late and I step forward to tell her it was my fault for us being late because I wanted to show him what places were safe enough for him to go to. When questioned on how I would know what places were safe in this forest I mention as casually as I can that I hang out in the forest a lot and I've memorized almost every pathway. The bandit's leader huffs and crosses her arms, mumbling to herself about something or other. She points to one of the other bandits and told them to show us where we were going to be sleeping. I give a nod of thanks to her and Lu and I follow the bandit. 

The next morning Lu tries once again tries to follow Ace, and I let him. I turn to the bandit's leader and ask her if there is any chores I could do, which musta surprised her and the bandits because they went quiet. After a few seconds the leader speaks up and tells me that the floor needs sweeping and the dishes needed doing. I nod and head off to do work, a slight smile on my face.


	13. Who Might You Be?

*Glaceir P.O.V*

It's been a couple months since Lu and I moved in with the bandits, and everyday Lu chases after Ace only to come back with fresh injuries. I tried talking him out of trying to follow Ace but he refused, and eventually I stopped trying. Today though I'm watching Lu instead of doing chores, partially because Lu seems rather lonely and needs someone to hang out with. Before leaving the house-if it could even be called that- I tell Lu to pack a backpack with some water so he doesn't get dehydrated. My backpack was already packed with water and a small wooden chest to collect rocks in.

I hold Lu's hand as we start to walk, feeling Ace watching us from the trees. I ask Lu if there's anywhere in particular that he wanted to go to, a question he answers with a shrug, so I decide that I'd bring him to the small stream I used to camp by before moving in with Makino around a decade ago. Lu's eyes light up when I tell him our destination and he starts asking a bunch of questions which I slowly answer, stopping every now and again to pick up a shiny rock or pebble to add to my collection.

When Lu and I finally arrive at my old campsite I set my pack down. Lu does the same and starts to explore the clearing, looking under rocks and logs for bugs and in the stream for fish. I sit and watch Lu play from a stump I used to use as a tent post, a near unseeable smile on my face as happy memories start clouding my thoughts and old daydreams start to resurface in my mind. I try not to space out, knowing that if I did Lu would manage to cause some kind of trouble.

It didn't take long for Lu to grow bored of the little clearing and ask if we could go explore the forest. After a brief moment of thought I nod and we get our packs, setting off into the forest so Lu could explore. While walking Lu was talking, not really about any one thing, mostly just stuff he was interested in. Perhaps that's why it surprised me when he decided to ask about my devil fruit, but then again I never told him about it, which means Akagami told him. I shrug a little and explain the basics of my abilities, since I really don't know much about it either. When I finish my explanation he just nods and asks if I would help him learn how to utilize his devil fruit ability so he could use it to fight. I would have said no, but he was giving me the puppy dog eyes, which he knows I can't say no to, so after a short conversation about how his training would go I promised we'd start at the beginning of the next month, but only if he let his wounds heal and didn't get any new ones.

By the time lunchtime rolls around Lu complains about being hungry and I tell him that if he wants to eat he needs to catch something on his own because I didn't bring any food with me. I chuckle when he makes a horrified face and tell him I'm joking before reaching into my pack and pulling out a lunch I had prepared for him. He grabs the lunch from my hands and starts eating. I sit down and lay on my back, looking at the clouds.

*Switch to Luffy's P.O.V.*  
Why did Glaceir lay on the ground? Why is he staring at the clouds, is there something in them? I stop eating and ask Glaceir what he's doing and he tells me he's looking at the sky. I also ask him why he's not eating lunch too and he says that he's training. When I ask what he's training for he stays really quiet for a while before saying that he doesn't really know. Confused by his answer I just shrug and say "It's a mystery reason then" before finishing the rest of my lunch.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

When Lu calls my answer for not eating a 'mystery reason' I chuckle, and he's not wrong, it is a mystery. When he finishes his lunch I tell him he could go explore by himself as long as stayed within my sights and he runs off with stars in his eyes as he starts exploring. I watch Lu dash from tree to tree from the place I'm sitting. Occasionally he strays farther away than I can see and I have to call out to him, but he always comes back. At some point I stop worrying about him wandering off and start daydreaming about the ocean.

Lu's wails pull me out of my daydreaming state and I panic. Getting up I start running through the forest, frantically looking for Lu, unsure if he is safe or not. Not long after I start running I find him, tied to a tree with two boys- one being Ace- muttering to each other. I become blind-sighted by a protective rage and storm up to the boys. I grab each of them by the neck of their shirts and lift them up into the air, demanding to know why Lu was tied to tree. Ace starts to panic, which causes the other boy to panic. Ace only begins to calm down when he recognizes that it's me holding him in the air and he starts rambling on about what happened. I turn my gaze to the other boy and ask if the story's true. After a terrified nod of confirmation I drop both of them and walk over to Lu to untie him. 

After getting him off the tree Lu clings to me like a koala and I give the two boys a stern talking to about the way they handled the situation. After I had calmed down and my mind returned to normal function I realize that the kid with the top hat looked familiar. A hazy memory from the place I was kept as a kid flashes in my head of a picture of a family of nobles. I'm unable to make out much of it but the kid is definitely in the picture, and my gaze must've shifted into a menacing glare because the boy starts to look scared. Shaking the memory from my mind I hold Lu closer and warn Ace that if something like this ever happens again he would not like the consequences. Before leaving I look the other kid dead in the eye and voice my distrust, then back at Ace to voice my disappointment in his actions. I stop and pick up Lu's pack and my pack before heading back to the bandit's house.


	14. Mistakes Are Made But Life Goes On

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

It's been a few weeks since I scolded Ace and his friend and I've noticed that Lu isn't coming home with new injuries, which means he's upholding his end of our deal. Since there were no chores to be done today I decide to take a walk in the woods and work on a project I had started. Tossing all the stuff I would need for the day into a backpack I let Dadan now that I was heading out and started making my way to where I have been hanging out at. 

The place I was going to was a small cave hidden away from others by large plants. Inside the cave I had set up a workshop, a sleeping mat, and a small book case. There was a fire pit set up in the middle of the cave floor to keep it warm and to cook food since I was usually here all day, though I typically don't eat very often so that bits not to important. The workshop table was currently cluttered with my project, which was a set of steel claws and I am working on attaching them to some gloves. I set my pack down by the sleeping mat and take a seat at the table and start fiddling with the claws and gloves.

Nearly an hour later I finally manage to get the claws securely attached to the gloves and I give a little celebratory wiggle. Slipping the gloves on I make slight adjustments so that they fit and when I get everything just right I set up a practice dummy and start working out fight moves. Soon enough I get caught up in my head an tune out everything around me.

The sound of small feet hitting the ground pulls me from my trance. Going completely still I count two different step patterns, Ace's and the boy named Sabo's. But where is Lu? Ace shouts something about needing to hurry and I can hear the panic in his voice. I rush out of the cave and look for the two boys. When I finally spotted them I had to sprint to catch up. I ask them what's wrong and both of them get guilty looks on their faces and the look worsens when I ask about Lu. Ace is the first to speak up and tells me that they had stolen from some pirates earlier and were hiding from them when a group of the pirates had wandered to close. Sabo then says that the pirates had grabbed Lu and taken him, but both of them thought that Lu would rat them out so they decided to move their treasure. It wasn't till maybe an hour or two later that Sabo said he realized that the forest was far to quiet, meaning Lu was likely still denying the pirates the information they wanted and that Lu's life was in danger.

With every word spoken from Spades(Ace) and Tophat(Sabo) my anger builds and the adrenaline starts pumping. I start running faster, strength I didn't have before starting to build and a deep snarl rises from deep within my throat. When we finally arrive at where the pirates were keeping Lu, Spades and Tophat burst through the wall with their metal pipes and I follow close behind. Spades and I attack the few cronies who try bringing their swords down upon us while Tophat cuts Lu down from the spot where he dangled from the ceiling by rope. Bloody and beaten to near death Lu manages a small whimper when Tophat lays him down against a wall, telling him that everything was gonna be okay.

Blinded by rage I lash out at the last man standing, who happens to be the leader of the small group, with my makeshift claws and thankfully they hold strong. I don't remember much about what happened during that fight due to the fact that I had blacked out from rage. When I finally came to my face and hands were covered in blood, and it wasn't my own. I glance around, finally noticing that Spades and Tophat were staring at me with the most horrified expressions. After assuring them that I was back to normal I told them to grab Lu and follow me.

I lead the boys to my cave and have them gently lay Lu down on the sleeping mat while I grab my first aide kit. I rush over Lu's side and set the first aide kit down, opening it up and taking fabric scissors and a few wash cloths. I hand the wash cloths to Tophat and ask him to soak them with the water in the bucket by my work table and he hurries off. I then turn to Spades and hand him the scissors, telling him to cut off Lu's shirt while I struggled to put on some latex gloves. Spades nods and starts to cut the fabric and Tophat comes back with the wet wash cloths. Still trying to get the gloves on I ask him to start cleaning the blood off Lu's face and arms then to do the same to his stomach and back as soon as Spades got the shirt off. After finally getting the gloves on I grab the disinfectant and I squirt a little bit onto a cotton pad and start addressing the wounds on Lu's face, moving down to his arms, torso, and back. Setting aside the disinfectant I grab a sewing needle and some thread and start stitching up the worst of the cuts, Spades and Tophat working together to apply bandages when I tell them to.

After half an hour of stitching and bandaging we finally finish. I take the gloves off and toss them to the side before making my way to the water bucket to try and wash my hands. After a few minutes of scrubbing I turn to face the two boys and lecture them about letting a stranger-a pirate nonetheless- take Lu and how their first priority should have been to make sure he was safe, making sure to keep quiet as not to wake Lu. I tell them that they could have at least looked for me when he was taken so I could take care of the situation. The two look extremely guilty for their actions and I sigh. Covering Lu with a blanket and propping his head up on a pillow I do my best to make sure he's comfortable. I stand and walk towards the cave entrance, asking the two boys to follow me to a nearby pond so we could wash the blood from our bodies. They give a small nod and I grab three sets of dry clothes, one for me and one for each of them since I planned on burning the blood stained clothes.

When we get to the pond each of us take of our shirts and toss them into a pile. I can feel their eyes on my back as they see my scars and tattoos for the first time. Spades hesitantly asks if he could touch the biggest of my scars, the one that wrapped around my entire torso. I nod and a shiver goes up my spine as his hand makes contact with the scarred skin and Tophat asked me where I got it, then asks about the tattoos on my lower back. I told them I'd explain it later, after we had cleaned all the blood off our skin, and the both nod. We get in the water and I find a rock to sit on so that if the water became to much to handle I wouldn't drown. While washing away the red I tell the two about how lonely Lu gets since there's really not any other kids his age on the island and why he was so desperate to be friends with them. After awhile though nobody speaks, leaving nothing but silence. Getting slightly paranoid over what is perhaps nothing I tell the boys that its time to go back to the cave and all three of us crawl out of the water. We put on the clean, dry clothes that I brought with me and I stuff the red stained clothes into a sack. The walk back to the cave is silent besides the sounds of our footsteps and the insects that flutter around. 

Since it was too late for the boys to head back home I set out a few more sleeping mats near the one that Lu was sleeping on and handed them some pillows and blankets. After setting up a place to sleep for myself I call Spades and Tophat over and ask them if they were hurt. Tophat said that he feels fine besides the few bruises and scrapes he got but Spades say that his head hurts, which worries me. I ask him to follow my finger with his eyes and he seems unable to do so. My worried look must have tipped off that something was wrong because Tophat started asking questions. I regather my composure and tell him that he didn't need to worry because Spades would be fine, he just had a minor concussion and that after a few days of rest he would be back to normal. 

I start a fire and tell the boys I was going out to get fresh water and something to eat, grabbing the water bucket before leaving the cave. I dump the dirty water into the grass and get fresh water from the nearby river. I bring the bucket back to the cave and put it back in it it's place before leaving again, this time with a wooden spear. The boys watch me leave and I can tell that they're hungry. So I look for the biggest animal that I can find, which ends up being a crocodile, and kill it. The look on the two boys face when I drag in the croc was hilarious. I skin the croc and start to carve it up, cooking it little by little so the boys could eat. Afterwards I take the bones and move them to the back of cave and I roll the hide up and store it in a large chest so I could use it later.

It wasn't long before Tophat and Spades fell asleep. I was staying up to guard the cave entrance and watch over Lu, occasionally changing the damp cloth on his forehead since he was starting to get really warm, which meant he was probably getting sick. It would be really bad if he got sick right now, seeing as he was already very weak from exhaustion and blood loss. Spades starts shifting in his sleep, one of the tell tale signs of a nightmare. Tophat was showing the same signs so I can assume that their nightmares are probably about what happened today. 

After maybe an hour I decide to pick up a book and start reading since I wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight. It was a book on how to navigate using charts, maps, and even the stars, and it was pretty interesting. I hear the shuffling of blankets as Tophat gets up and walks over to me and sits down. He asks for a book and I point to a shelf, saying he could pick out whichever one he wanted. With a nod he stands up, walks over to to the shelf, picks out a book, and comes back over to sit down. I asked him what book he chose and he tells me that he's not exactly sure what kind of book it is and shows me the cover. I recognize it immediately as 'The Beginner's Guide To Learning Scytherian', and explain to him exactly what it is. He seems intrigued and I ask him If he would like to learn Scytherian and the history of the ancient language, like when and where it originated. He gave an excited nod and I spend most of the night teaching him how to read, write , and speak Scytherian. Turns out he's a fast learner and is able to use it fluently within an hour so I started telling him about Scytherian holidays and little facts about the people who used to celebrate them. Eventually Tophat got tired and went back to his sleeping mat and I went back to reading my book, feeling a little bit better now that I had finally shared some of knowledge of my home island with someone I trust.


	15. What The Memory Tells

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

Spades wakes up at the break of dawn and shuffles over to check on Lu, who was trembling slightly despite being well covered. Spades calls me over as quietly as he can and I get up and walk over. I rest the back of my hand on Lu's forehead to check his temperature. Frowning, I ask Spades to bring me a damp wash cloth. Spades nods and wets a cloth in the water bucket, asking if Lu was gonna be okay. With a small nod I tell him that Lu just has a fever and that he has no need to worry. After making sure the cloth stayed in place I get up and go over to the book case and start shuffling books around, looking for some Sake, seeing as I could really use a drink right about now. Spades scoots closer to Lu so he could watch over him.

A couple hours later Tophat wakes up and shuffles over to sit next to Spades and Lu. Spades informs the other of Lu's fever and he frowns slightly. I can tell that both of them feel responsible for Lu's current condition. I start scanning over the books I have here and pick out a book for each boy, a book on the Scytherian Archipelago for Tophat and a book on different pirates for Spades. I sit across from the boys next to Lu and hand them the books. Tophat smiles and opens the book, Spades grabs the book from my hand and stares at it for a second before finally opening it. I take the cloth from Lu's forehead and go to the water bucket to get it damp again.

This goes on for three days before Lu wakes up. The two boys had been laying next him and had fallen asleep, and I was at my work table trying to improve and clean the claws. When Lu sits up the other two stir from their sleep, taking a second to wake fully before they realize that Lu's up. I hear gasps from the two and turn to check on them, worried that maybe a wound had reopened. When that isn't the case I smile and make my way over, crouching down to ask Lu how he felt. Mumbling, he complains about hurting all over and the he was thirsty. Without a word Spades jumps up to bring Lu some water and helped Lu drink when he couldn't hold the glass himself.

The two boys and I spend the next thirty minutes helping Lu drink and changing the many bandages to make sure the wounds didn't get infected. I offer Lu small chunks of food from the previous day so he could start regaining his strength. I go to the back of the cave to grab some clothes for Lu and Spades gets a bit of a dark look before asking a question that made me stop in my tracks. I shake my head and tune out the rest of the conversation, since I clearly wasn't meant to hear it. After grabbing the clothes I walk back over to the boys and set them down next to Lu. Before walking away Spades grabs my pant leg saying he has a question for me.

'What would you think if Gol D. Rodger had a kid?' That was the question Spades asked. I think for a second before shrugging, the words "I would hope that they are given all the love this world has to offer because a kid is a kid, no matter who their parents are" leaving my mouth as my hand instinctively moves to the first tattoo I had gotten. He looked at me with a puzzled expression and I lift my shirt to show him the tattoo. "I met Gol D. Rodger once or twice before he died and from my experience he was a good man." My words were soft spoken as Spades reaches over to touch the tattoo. He asks why I got it and when and I smile a little, and tell him it's a long story. He smirks, saying he's got the time to listen. 

"Well, before I was born" I start, "my father and his crew lost everything to a storm. Stranded at sea, they soon began to get dehydrated and starve." The three boy's eyes get wide as they listen. "Before long a big ship pulled up beside them and the captain had offered aide to my father. Though he was skeptical my father accepted the help. The other ship lead them safely to an island and gave them provisions while a doctor looked over everyone. Shortly after the other pirates had left I was born and my parents both agreed to tattoo the Jolly Rodger of the person who rescued them to my lower back as a symbol of luck." I finish the story and rub the tattoo. Spades huffs and says that my story wasn't long at all. I chuckle and tell him he's right. Shortly afterwards Tophat reminded me that I promised to tell them the story behind my scar and the smile on my face falters.

Lu gets confused, seeing as I never told him about the scar and he had never seen it either. My mind becomes distant as I start to tell the story.

————————————————————————  
Flashback to the time Glaceir was 2 1/2

They have been pushing me really hard recently. I'm exhausted, starving, tired, and dehydrated. Probably sick, but they don't care. All they want is for me to master my devil fruit. So far I was able to control it enough that I could repel attacks from other devil fruit users but the wasn't enough for them. The told me to concentrate, so I did, because if I didn't they would hurt me. While concentrating I felt a strangely strong amount of force building inside my body, waiting for a trigger action. I move my feet apart and cross my arms over my chest. As soon as my arms come uncrossed the force bursts and I black out.

I wake up on a bed in the med bay, my entire torso wrapped in bandages with a blood drip and an IV drip in my arm. At first I felt fine so I tried to sit up. That's when the pain hit, and it's bad enough that I have to stop myself screaming out. The monitor starts beeping, catching a doctor's attention. She rushes over and helps my lie back down. She informs me that I had been unconscious for three weeks.

The next hour is spent taking all sorts of different tests to see if there was any permanent damage. The doctor said my injury was likely going to leave a scar but other than that I was fine. The person in charge of my training walks over to me. Apparently the thing I did caused enough pressure to build in my blood that my veins imploded with enough explosive power that it put a hole in the ground where I stood. The thought of the entire situation made me quiver. The doctor tells the person that I won't be able to train again for at least a month and, needless to say, the person wasn't pleased. Since there was a short supply of pain meds the just hand me a little glass cup with a brown liquid in it. My eyes start to feel heavy so I go back to sleep.

End Flashback  
————————————————————————

The look on all three of the boy's faces was one of extreme worry as I look to the floor. My hair covers my face as tears start streaming down my face as almost all the bad memories bombard my mind. Spades and Tophat get up, wanting to comfort me but Lu holds them back. When the two give him a confused look he gets up and limps over to the bottle of Sake that I left on my work table. After he grabs he carries it over to me, setting it by my leg before going back to sit next to Spades and Tophat. Popping the cork out I tip the bottle up and down the rest of the bottle. I stand up and add the bottle to the other ten maybe eleven bottles sitting under the work table. Wiping my eyes I try to push away the memories and think better, happier thoughts. "Are you ok now?" Luffy asks with a small voice. I turn to him with a smile on my face. "I'm okay. Just had a bit of breakdown is all." My voice is soft and quiet, nearly inaudible even in the lingering silence. 

Lu must have picked up on my lie because he gets up again and limps over to me. Grabbing my hand he leads me to the one untouched sleeping mat and tells me to lay down. I flop, landing with a quiet thump, not having the energy nor the will to tell him no. Lu grabs a blanket and drapes it over me before limping over the book case to grab the one picture book I taught him how read. Plopping himself on the ground Lu starts to read to me.

*Switch to Ace's P.O.V.*

Sabo and I watch as Luffy takes Glaceir by the hand and leads him to a sleeping mat, telling him that he needs to lie down and get some rest. It surprises me when Glaceir does what Luffy says without an argument. Luffy then covers him with a blanket and grabs a book off the case to read to him. I realize that even though seeing Luffy like that- bloody, beaten, and unconscious- made Sabo and I really worried we never stopped to consider the physical, mental, and emotional toll that it inflicted on Glaceir, who- from what I've been told- has helped raise Luffy since Garp dropped him off on Dawn Island. I think Sabo starts to have the same thought because his expression changes from worried to slightly disappointed.

After Luffy had finished reading and Glaceir had fallen asleep both Sabo and I ask Luffy if Glaceir was gonna be okay. Luffy nods and states "Glaceir used to get like this every time a marine ship would dock on the island or was spotted nearby. Makino told me that he was having something called a anxiety attack" in a very quiet voice. "Sometimes the anxiety attacks would real bad though and he'd lock himself in his room. Makino wouldn't let me see him when he had that kind." Luffy's voice drops slightly as he tells us that what Glaceir is having now is one of the worse anxiety attacks, or as Garp called it, a mental breakdown. Luffy says that he had seen one of Glaceir's breakdowns before when it happened just outside town by the tree line. The way he describes that situation is that it seemed like Glaceir was unable to move for a few seconds before he collapsed to his knees, covering his ears with his hands and whimpering like like he was hurt. He says he ran to get Makino but can't remember anything else that happened.

*Switch to Sabo's P.O.V.*

The story Luffy tells us worries me, but also it tells me that we were so worried about Luffy that we didn't pay enough attention to the fact that Glaceir was affected by the situation as well, even more so than we were. I ask how long it was going to take for Glaceir to recover and he shrugs, saying that "Only time will tell" as he puts the book away. 

After sitting between us and Glaceir his stomach grumbles and he complains about being hungry. Ace and I offer to go catch something to eat and Luffy nods a 'yes please' as his stomach growls again. 

Ace and I return a few minutes later with a bunch of small animals which we cook over the fire. After eating my share I put some aside for Glaceir to eat and and fill a glass with water for when he wakes up. Shortly after the three of us go to bed, still worrying about Glaceir.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

There's a glass of water and cooked meat by my sleeping mat when I wake up the next morning. Unable to deny my hunger as my stomach howls I eat as fast as I can, drinking water so I don't choke. Looking around I see that three boys are still sleeping so I get up and head to the cave's exit, deciding it would probably be a good idea to go check in with Dadan since we've been hiding out for nearly a week now and have made no attempt to contact her. Stumbling up to the front of the house I knock gently on the door, which Dadan throws open looking rather angry, an expression that changes quickly when she realizes that it was me knocking.

Dadan asks where I've been and if I knew where the boys are, and I answer, telling her about everything that happened and that we are currently hiding as not to get caught. I don't tell her where we're hiding though, which she understands. I mention that the only reason that I was here was to check in with her before turning to leave.

The first thing I see when I walk into the cave is the three boys all cuddled up to each other while they sleep and I snap a photo of it to use later as blackmail. I figured that I had some time to kill before the three woke up to I went to my work table to work on claws.

It didn't take long, forty minutes perhaps, before Tophat wakes up, stretching and yawning. He looks over to the sleeping mat where I was earlier and gets a slight panicked expression when he realizes I'm not there anymore, before looking around and spotting me at my work table. Happy to see me doing better he smiles, keeping quiet as not to wake the others. Grabbing the book I gave him the other day he gets up and walks over to sit next to me in a chair made just for him. He sets the book on the table so it's easier to read and every now again he asks for help when it comes to translating certain words. In turn he helps me when I can't make a decision for a blueprint or get frustrated while trying to put things together. And we both have small smiles on our faces because for the moment everything is peaceful.

When Spades wakes up he gets up and walks up to me to ask if he could borrow a bottle of Sake. Intrigued with why he wanted it I said yes and he walks over and grabs a bottle from the shelf. Spades sets four red Sake cups onto a crate and sets the bottle next to it before waking Lu up and asking us to gather around the crate, so we do. After taking a second to get Lu to quiet down Spades starts pouring Sake into the cups while telling us about a ritual where people drink Sake together to become brothers. We each pick up a cup and while Lu and Tophat were excited I was not, and when they noticed Spades asked me what was wrong and I mumble about being undeserving of family. "Bullshit. If anyone deserves family its you" Spades states rather matter-of-factly. For a moment I'm quiet taken aback by his statement, and as I think about his words the tears start welling in my eyes as I smile a little. We raise our Sake cups and make a toast to our newfound brotherhood before drinking the Sake. The three boys choke and cough as the strong burning sensation hurts their throats and I giggle. Eventually we all start laughing and the three gives me the best hug I've ever received.


	16. From The Scraps

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

Things have been going well lately and Spades and Lu decide to go back to Dadan's place. Since I had pretty much moved all my stuff here I have decided to live in the cave. Tophat asks if he could live in the cave with me since he didn't really have a home to go back to. I tell him that as long as he helps with chores and such that I wouldn't mind him staying here, also mentioning how it would be slightly easier to help him study Scytherian which excited him. I ask Tophat why he's so interested in learning about an ancient civilization and he just shrugs saying that he's never heard of it before now and it seems interesting. Understanding what it's like to learn of the unknown I just nod, accepting the answer.

I teach Tophat about many things while he's here, such as reading the stars to navigate during the night and how to read surface currents by the temperature of the water. He's read through most of my personal library too. There are certain books that I don't let him read though, such as the book about Scytherian weaponry. I taught him the little bit I know about medicine. 

Everything was going well. The three boys often hang out together, whether that means mugging people in the big city nearby or fighting the colossal tigers and bear that live in the forest, which I had disapproved of from the start but even more so now that they seem to face off almost daily. There's been no trouble from whats left of the pirates that kidnapped Lu, so that's good. 

I decided to take the chance to tidy up the cave while the boys were out doing whatever because the cave was quiet a mess. As I've done in previous times I tune out the world around me, that is I did until a figure stepped into the cave. I stick to the back wall as the person approaches, apparently not realizing that this cave was currently occupied. As soon as they got too close to my books for my mental safety I growl, which sure as hell grabs their attention. I move closer to the book case, light reflects off the claw gloves as I move, giving them a damn good sense of my position. Whoever was there seems to get the message and backs away slowly. The proclaim that they mean no harm. After taking a second to consider every possible outcome of this situation I decide to play pacifist. Lightening off the defensive stance I not-so-kindly ask them to leave. With a nod the person exits swiftly, hopefully never to be seen again.

The three boys return later that evening, looking slightly more aggravated than usual. When asked what's wrong Spades mumbles something inaudible and Tophat, with a slightly embarrassed look, tells me he was born a noble. "Oh I already knew that." I immediately realize that I had said the wrong thing and begin to regret it as all three boys stop what they're doing and look at me. In a slightly suspicious tone Spades asks how I knew. I turn to face them but when I try to tell them I start to fumble over my words and I can feel the anxiety start to build, my hands twitch and move on their own.

*Switch to Luffy's P.O.V.*

Glaceir starts trying to say something but can't get the words to come out right. I get worried cause this is how his anxiety attacks start sometimes. I let him try to speak, but when he starts to have a hard time breathing I rush over to him and cover his mouth with my hand.

*Switch to Ace's P.O.V.*

Glaceir struggles to speak when I ask him how he knew Sabo was born a noble. He starts moving his hands in little formations in the air, but he seems okay so I don't do anything. Luffy seems to be getting nervous though, and when Glaceir starts to hyperventilate Luffy rushes to cover his mouth with his hand, which confuses me.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Anxiety had started to take control of my mind and it became difficult to breath. Lu had recognized this as a start of an anxiety attack and covered my mouth with his small hand to stop me from talking. When Lu notices Spades and Tophat's confused looks he just shakes his head a little, kinda like he was telling them not to ask again. Or maybe that's just me overthinking. Doesn't matter. 

After a few seconds I grunt to signal that I'm okay now and Lu takes his hand away from my face. Lu plops down in my lap and leans against me. I hug Lu and try again to tell them. 

I start by asking them if they remember my first interaction with Tophat and get nods from all three of them, Spades bringing up the fact that I had spaced out for a second. I nod. Recollecting the scenario I tell them of what memory had flashed into my mind, the one of the picture, and how Tophat was in it. This of course caused some confusion, like where I had seen a photo like that. "It was on the funders wall at a marine facility used for human weapon testing." The look on Tophat's face becomes one of fear, confusion, and anger. But also of understanding as he realized why my distrust of him was so great the first time we met. 

It takes Tophat a second to process the 'human weapon testing' before both he and the other two give me moderately worried looks. I just point to my scar and they seem to grasp what I'm implying. After everyone has had time to calm down Lu becomes way more clingy than usual, particularly when I try to go do something on my own. 

The next day the three boys run off to do whatever it is that they do. But I have a bad feeling about today so I ask if I can tag along with them. Lu gives me a big smile and says yes, but the other two must have picked up on my worried feelings because they agreed while exchanging confused glances.

We all end up in the place I call the Scrap Heap. The boys have their fun while I sit somewhere off to the side to watch over them. A few of the people who live here sit nearby and attempt to make small talk. I do my best to be polite and keep the conversation going. When it gets really difficult to keep up I apologize for making it appear like I don't care because I do, I'm just trying to keep my eyes on three little hooligans who's specialties are to just straight up disappear and cause trouble. The locals break out into chuckles and laughter before saying it's not a problem and that I'm actually much more polite than most others they encounter.

Eventually some high society looking people enter the Scrap Heaps and the hair on the back of my neck sticks up. Looking around for the trouble trio my anxiety starts to build. Eventually I find them and I rush over, telling them that it's time to go. Lu, obviously disappointed, says that we haven't even been here very long but the other two just nod. Lu quickly picks up on the fact that something isn't right and we make our way to where the scrap meets the trees, but by then it's too late and we're surrounded. The men are pointing guns at us, threatening to shoot if Tophat didn't leave with them. Against Lu and Spades' many tries to convince him to stay Tophat goes. As Tophat is escorted away one of the people toss a lit match into the scraps and everything goes up in flames.

I grab Lu and Spades by the hand and start running. They both struggle against my grasp, wanting to go save Tophat. It takes a stern "You can't save him if you die here in the flames!" For them to realize that there's nothing that they can do at this exact moment and they're best chance at seeing him again is to run. I let go of their arms as soon as we start to approach Dadan's place. Dadan, having heard the commotion, was getting ready to go look for the boys when she saw us coming. For a brief moment she looked relieved, but upon realizing that there was only three of the four kids she asks us what happened. Lu breaks down into tears and Spades crosses his arms, calling him a crybaby. I look Dadan in the eye and tell her that Tophat's family came for him and that he decided to go with them. 

After hearing the whole story from the other two Dadan sends Dogra to go in search of Tophat, knowing that the kid was to rebellious to do what he's told. I leave as well, going to scout out the shores just in case Tophat ends up trying to leave the island from there. I don't tell the others where I'm going but Dogra follows me, knowing that I know Tophat better than anyone.

Once we reach the docks we split up, Dogra checking the crowd that had gathered by the shore to watch the ship of a Celestial Dragon and I head off towards some of the hidden ports. Within minutes I find Tophat, who is preparing to leave the island on a not so well made ship of his own. I try talking him out of leaving but he claims that it's for the best because Lu, Spades, and I would be left alone. I keep trying to convince him but his mind was made and there's no way to stop him. 

I wave Tophat goodbye and tell him to be careful and to go the long way out to sea before making my way back to Dogra. Upon seeing my saddened expression he asks if I was okay. I nod, telling him I found Tophat and that he was leaving the island. We both turn to watch the seas as a woman's voice calls out at a small ship. My heart stops. "That's Tophat. I told him to go the long way!" I begin to panic as the celestial dragon takes notice of the small ship too. Dogra attempts to calm me down and for it works for a total of two seconds before it happens. There's a loud boom from the celestial dragon's ship and a few moments later Tophat's ship is blown into a hundred pieces.

I stop breathing as I scan the wreckage of the small ship. Tophat is nowhere to be found. My brain stops functioning and I feel myself slip from consciousness.


	17. The Panic Sets In

*Ace's P.O.V.*

It's been awhile since Dogra and Glaceir left to search for Sabo. Luffy had since calmed down and was clinging to my side. I keep my eyes on the door, waiting for them to return, hopefully with Sabo, but I'm really not all that certain that Sabo is gonna come back. 

Just as Luffy starts to fall asleep Dogra barges into the house, carrying Glaceir over his shoulder. Dogra lays Glaceir on the ground near the center of the room as Dadan asks what happened. Through heavy breaths Dogra says "Glaceir had found Sabo and tried to talk him out of leaving. When Sabo wouldn't listen Glaceir told him to go the long way around the island. He came to meet me at the docks just as Sabo's ship was blown apart by a Celestial Dragon, that's when Glaceir blacked out." Dogra also says that it's likely that Sabo died in the blast.

I couldn't believe a word Dogra says. There's no way Sabo is dead. Luffy eyes start to water again, within seconds he's sobbing and crawling over to Glaceir. Luffy's straw hat covers his eyes as he grabs tightly to Glaceir's shirt. I clench my fists and my jaw tightens, feeling even angrier at the world than I had before.

I keep my anger to myself though. Luffy doesn't need that right now. I get up and walk over to my brothers and sit beside them. Not really knowing what to do I stay quiet and still. Dogra hands me a letter that was addressed to me saying that Glaceir dropped it earlier. I grab it before getting up and leaving the house, reading the letter as I walk, eventually coming to a cliff. I sit there, still reading as the tears start to run down my face.

~~Three days later~~

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

My mind races, images of that terrible, terrible moment repeatedly taking over everything. Then my eyes open. I'm in the bandit's house, blanket laid over me and a pillow under my head. There's a heavy weight on my chest, which turns out to be Lu. I sit up and carefully lay Lu's head on the pillow before standing up and silently leaving. I make way towards the cave, but stop at the entrance. Memories of all the fun times I shared with Tophat flood my mind and I start crying. I wipe the tears from my eyes before going into the cave. I pick up my backpack from beside the work table and put all my tools in it. Walking over to the book case I pick up the first book I taught Lu to read, some books on navigation and weapons, and empty books and toss them in the bag along with a bottle of ink and a ballpoint pen.

As soon as I had grabbed the most important stuff from in the cave I leave, looking for a clearing or something to build a temporary camp. I end up choosing a large hole in the roots of a giant tree as my campsite and set my bag down. I spend the rest of the day gathering materials to build a water gathering system and a fireplace. I set a sleeping mat down, though it's probably pretty obvious I won't be able to sleep for awhile. Sitting on the ground I lean against the tree, tired and anxious. 

I stare at the sky for what feels like an eternity when I finally hear two voices calling frantically, probably Spades and Lu, both trying to find me. I don't make an effort to hide, not really having the energy to even try. The voices get louder as the two get closer. Eventually Spades spots me and calls Lu over before sitting down next to me. When Lu arrives he sits on the other side of me. Both look worried. Lu hugs my side, telling me how he was scared when he woke up only to notice that I was gone. I apologize weakly. Spades asks me if I'm hungry or thirsty and I just mumble "Some water sounds nice..." and he gets up. Rummaging through my bag he pulls out a cup and fetches some water from a stream. He brings it back carefully and hands it to me. Grabbing the cup and taking a sip, the feeling of the cold water giving me a small boost of energy. I thank Spades, setting the cup down and resting my head against the tree once more.

We sit there like this until nightfall. Spades puts Lu on my sleeping mat and tells him a story. As soon as I think neither of them are paying attention I start to cry. I'm not as quiet as I think I am and as Lu drifts into sleep Spades walks over and sits beside me. He doesn't ask what's wrong, he just stares quietly at the twinkling stars. It doesn't take long before I break down, mumbling about how Tophat's death was my fault or that there was so much more I could have done to get him to stay. Spades, in the softest, kindest tone I've ever heard, reassures me that I couldn't have known what was going to happen and that I wasn't to blame. All of this just made my tears flow more and Spades gets up to lay next to Lu, falling asleep shortly after. In the end I still feel guilty...


	18. Plan Set In Place

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

I wake up in the morning still leaning against the tree. I look over to Lu and Spades, who were still sleeping, and sigh. I pull my knees to my chest and just...... think. Think about what I'm going to do now, what my next course of action is going to be. I don't really wanna stay here on the island anymore but I also don't want to leave Lu and Spades. Frustration builds as I am still unable to make a decision. I look again up at the sky, silently asking the remaining stars for guidance. As soon as my frustration is mostly gone a plan starts to form. As I start to think about the details I space out.

I snap back into reality when Lu tugs on my shirt, quietly calling my name. I look at him, then Spades, then out over the cliff and to the sea. "Two years" is the only thing that I say and they give me a confused look. I look at them both before saying "In two years I will leave the island and set sail on my own adventure." A sad expression appears on Lu's face and I turn to look at the sea once more. Spades asks why I made the decision to leave and why in that specific time frame. I shrug, not really having an actual answer for the first time in a long time.

The three of us decide to go visit Foosha Village so I can tell Makino and a few of the other townsfolk my plan. Makino was saddened to hear that I had decided to leave the island even though I wasn't leaving for a couple years yet. Makino walks over to a shelf, reaching up to grab the small wooden chest that I had given to her all those years ago. Opening the chest she pulls out a few pictures of her and I. Looking through the photos I see that they're all from when I was still adjusting to living like a normal kid. One photo was of me struggling to get a shirt on, another was me trying a honeycomb for the first time. I chuckle at a photo of me when I had managed to get my head stuck in the sleeve of a shirt. I try to give the photos back but Makino shakes her head saying that these were for me. I get all emotional and start to tear up, the whole situation ending with a big hug.

After all is said and done for the day we head back to my temporary camp. Grabbing the pen and journal from my bag I sit against the tree. Lu asks what I'm doing and I mumble a response. Using my pen I scribble 'Memory Pages' at the top of the first blank page. Reaching over to my bag I grab a box and some glue. After deciding how I want to situate the photos from Makino I glue them in, opening the box and doing the same with all the pictures I had taken of and with the three boys. Spades comes to realize that what I'm doing is making a scrapbook and tells Lu to be quiet so he doesn't distract me.

It takes maybe thirty minutes before I have all the pictures in the journal. Closing the glue I slip both it and the box back into my bag. Lu asks if he can look at all the pictures and I nod, handing him the journal. He grabs it carefully and opens it, actually taking the time to look at every picture. When he gets halfway through the journal he asks why the page are blank and I tell him that I left it like that so I could add more later. Lu nods, not really understanding. He hands the journal to Spades, who acts like he doesn't really care but from the way he examines every photo its obvious that he cares a lot. Just watching the two of them puts a big ol' cheesy smile on my face. When he's done Spades hands the journal back to me and I put it in my bag. Both boys shuffle over and give me a big hug. 

Lu's stomach started to howl and he grumbles about being hungry. Me and Spades chuckle at him for a moment. Spades gets up and says that he'll go get us something to eat and leaves, metal pipe grasped firmly as he runs into the forest. As soon as Spades is out of sight Lu crawls into my lap and asks what I was gonna do when I left. I take a second to think before I respond with "I think I'll be a pirate." Lu's eyes light up and he says he wants to be a pirate too. Chuckling, I tell him that I knew that already cause I was there when he made that deal with Akagami.

It's been maybe five minutes before Spades comes back with croc. I start up a fire and the other two work on starting to cook the croc. Lu tells Spades about how I was gonna become a pirate while Spades half listened, nodding along every now and again. Lu stops talking for a second before looking at me and asking what he first thing I was gonna do as a pirate. I stall for a moment before casually saying that I plan to head straight for the Grand Line. Spades asks why I'd be in such a hurry and I ramble/rant about a grudge I have against a man who lives in the Grand Line and how I just want to get things 'sorted out.' Spades must have heard my change of tone during the last part and asks why I was holding a grudge. Again, I mumble about it being because of something that happened when I maybe two years old.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Flashback 

A small group of the gun people were moving me to a new place. Usually the gun people are real mean to me but these people are nice so I trust them. I guess they are kinda like family, but I wouldn't know because I've never had one before. One of the nice gun people is telling me a story about an island in the sky and I am so confused. Islands are s'posed to be in the water, how can one be in the sky? All of a sudden a big shadow flies overhead and the gun people tell me to hide so I crawl into a really big bush and cover my eyes. There's a lot of noises and voices talking. I block out the world around me, getting really, really scared. When I start being able to pay attention again I peak out the bush, and what I see makes me really sad. All the nice gun people are on the ground, laying in big red puddles with their eyes closed even though it's not bedyby time yet. I waddle over to the nice gun person that was telling me about the island in the sky and gently shake her but she doesn't wake up. I get worried and shake a little harder but she still doesn't wake up. I try to wake the others but that doesn't work either. I get worried cause if the gun people's boss comes and they're asleep they gonna get in trouble and I don't want them to get in trouble. Soon a gun person shows up, and I had never seen him before. He picks me up and tells me that everything is gonna be okay. Now I'm confused again. Is there something wrong? I tell the gun person to not get mad at the nice gun people for falling asleep. The gun person frowns and tells me that the nice people aren't sleeping...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ignoring most of the memory I focus on the big shadow. "The man's name is Marco. He's a member of the Whitebeard Pirates." is all I say before staring blankly at the closest flat surface as the two boys dig into their meal. Using a stick I draw what I remember the shadow looking like before scribbling over it and drawing a hazy figure of a man. Spades seems to be slightly concerned considering no less than a second ago a warm smile was plastered on my face, now in its place is an expression of something that isn't quite anger nor sadness. Lu asks what I plan on doing if I ever find the person I'm angry at. "Probably challenge him to a fight." I say before mumbling "Which I'll win or die trying to..." under my breath. Spades elbows me in the side and I make an eek noise. He giggles and offers me something to eat and I shake my head, saying that I'm not hungry.

Later that night the two curl up together next to the fireplace, which was barely burning anymore. Sitting against the tree I stretch and yawn before getting up and tiptoeing over to where the boys slept. After making sure they had a blanket and what not I lay beside them, getting ready to go to sleep myself, a small smile resting on my face. "Goodnight, little brothers..."


	19. 1/2 chapter: Through The Years

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

Today me and the brats are going to go fishing. Lu is very excited but Spades says it's gonna take forever and be boring. Lu calls him a party pooper and Spades threatens to toss him into the croc pit. Lu screams and runs to me. Picking Lu up I look at Spades and tell him "That's not nice, stop picking on your little brother." Spades apologizes and we all grab our fishing poles and head to the river. By lunch time we've caught a total of twelve fish. Spades puts the fish in a basket and we head home. Lu wiggles excitedly as the fish cooks and is the first to eat when it's finished. The brats, feeling stuffed, lie down and take a nap, cuddling close to each other. I snap a photo to add to my journal.  
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The two boys are playing with beetles that crawl around my campsite. I watch with a smile as they gawk over the ones that are colorful and make the big ones fight. A particularly large shiny beetle crawls onto my foot and I screech, falling off of the stump I was sitting on. The boys rush over to ask what happened and if I was okay and I point to the beetle that had crawled up to my knee, asking them to get it off. Spades grabs the beetle and both stare at it while I sit up. They look back at me and we all start chuckling. They take the beetle over to their little makeshift arena. Happy to have the bug off me and that the boys are having fun I look up to the sky. Eventually they run out of beetles to fight and hold up the champion and I snap a photo.  
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Both of the brats are complaining about being bored. They start bugging me about doing something with them, but I'm busy so I can't. I suggest the two have a hunting competition to see who can catch the biggest animal for dinner. They run out into the forest arguing with each other over who was gonna win. I sigh. "They're gonna scare all the animals into hiding with how loud they are...." slips from my mouth as I can still here them hollering. A little while later Spades comes running back, and he's carrying Lu. I see blood dripping from Lu's torso and I jump up and grab the first aide kit. Spades sets him on his sleeping mat and starts telling me about how he had climbed a tree so Lu would stop following him. He then says one of the giant tigers attacked Lu and that Lu had called for help but he didn't listen. He starts apologizing profusely. I tell him that it's okay and that he didn't know that this would happen. It only takes a few minutes to get Lu bandaged up.  
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After hearing the story about how Akagami had saved Lu, Spades asks Makino to teach him how to be polite. When asked why Spades says he wants to thank Akagami when/if he gets the chance to meet him. Makino goes over the basics and she and I both laugh when Spades does something incorrectly. Lu tries to convince Spades to go play with him but Spades says that he's busy. Lu get a confused look and says "You're not busy, your like, ten?" I break down in laughter.  
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	20. The Journey Begins

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

It's finally time. Makino, the brats, and the bandits stand on the shore as I board my small boat. I've chosen to set sail from the same place Tophat did as a way to honor his memory. Makino had packed the boat with enough food to last a month and a few sets of clothes. Spades and Lu are both teary eyed. I grab two gift boxes from my bag and hand one to each boy. Confused they open the gifts. Inside there are Den Den Mushis and slips of paper with my number on it so we can keep in contact. Lu starts to cry and both of them are quick to give me a hug. After a brief exchange of words I thank everyone for what they've done for me over the years and set off on my journey.

*Switch to Spades P.O.V.*

Luffy and I run to the docks so we see Glaceir better as he leaves. Luffy seems rather concerned. I ask him whats wrong and he says that if Glaceir isn't careful he's gonna snatched by the Lord of the Coast, which is a giant sea king. I hear a loud rumbling growl and look out to where Glaceir's boat was heading just in time to see a large sea king rise out of the water. The sea king lunges at Glaceir's boat and I prepare for the worst. But nothing happens. The sea king dives back into the deep and Glaceir keeps sailing. Both me and Luffy let out a sigh of relief.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

The Lord of the Coast rises above my ship before lunging towards it. As he nears I look him dead in the eyes as a get ready for a struggle, but for some strange reason he goes right over me, creating a wave that pushes me onward. Looking to where the sea king disappeared from sight I give silent thanks to my good luck charm. I look back at the island and give one more small wave.  
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It takes me four days to reach the next island. Under the guise of a fisherman I roam through the streets, looking at all the small shops. While paying for some food the stall vendor warns me of the tyrannical Marine that resides in the base on this island. I thank the vendor for the warning and start back towards my ship. 

I get off that island as fast as is physically possible for my small boat. The warning from the vendor still lingering in my mind as I'm reminded of my hatred and fear of the Marines. I watch the island until I am no longer able to se it. I look to the map in my hand and then to the sky, using the position of the sun as a compass to get to the next closest island. After confirming which way to go I tuck the map somewhere safe before grabbing the ropes used to control the sails.

I wait for just the right gust of wind and open the sail, which catches the wind and accelerates my travel. Taking all the ropes into one hand I use the other to move the boat's rudder to keep it going in the same direction. I keep repeating this pattern till night falls. Without the sun to use as a compass I use the stars as a map. First finding the biggest, brightest star I figure out which direction is which and continue my travels.  
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By noon the next day I've already made it to the next island. Docking my boat by the peer I make my way into the closest small town. The townsfolk all wave and say hi, and I return their greetings with a pleasant smile. Since I really don't need anything while I'm here I chat with people about small things, like the weather or how our days are going. There's not a lot to do though and soon I'm back out to sea.

The water is rather calm and the winds have pretty much stopped. So I sit, doing nothing. Getting bored I pull out my claw gloves and start sharpening them. As I'm doing this I think about how lucky I must be to have not run into any other pirates. If that happened now my journey would probably be over.  
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I get a call from Spades. Both him and Lu ask how things are going so far. Smiling, I tell them about each of the islands I have visited so far. I ask Lu how his devil fruit training is going and he grumbles about being unable to aim his hits. I tell him to try focusing all of his attention on his target before he goes make a hit. No less than literally two seconds later I hear the sound of a breaking rock and ecstatic cheers. I chuckle and Spades tells me about how things are going back home.   
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After talking for an hour Spades and Lu say goodbye and hangup. By now the winds have picked back up so I ready the sails as I set forward once more. The winds aren't really as strong as I'd like but as long as I can keep going I don't really care.  
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After two hours I start to hum and sing quietly to myself. Growing up with the brats always meant there was constant noise, but I'm used to it and the noise was part of what made that place my home, but all this silence is deafening and uncomfortable in comparison. It reminds me of the times where I was alone in a cell. 

Shaking away the bad memory I tap out a tune with my foot. The song I sing to the tune is called "Drunken Sailor". I don't remember where I learned it from but it's a good song.  
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Around maybe a week later I reach another island. Shortly after docking I realize that there's a hole in the side of boat. This concerns me a little because if the hole was any bigger my boat probably would have sank. I rush into the town, looking for wood to patch the hole. I find a broken barrel. Grabbing a piece that's just the right size to properly cover the hole I rush back to my ship. Pulling my small set of tools out from my bag I position the wood scrap over the hole. All it takes is four nails to keep the patch in place. 

I take the time to have something to eat. Not really feeling all that hungry I choose a big red apple, one of the easiest things to eat due to my teeth. The apple makes a crisp crunch noise as I bite into it. I glance around and see some of the kids that live in the village watching me from afar. I wave to them and they hide. For a second it confuses me, but then I remember my appearance. I guess I look pretty strange compared to others. I've got fluffy cobalt blue hair, Azeala Purple eyes (each one a different shape), one dangly earring in my left ear, shark-like teeth, and I'm also unreasonably short. I kinda freak people out, and sometimes it's funny. It just kinda hurts to see kids around the same age as my brothers be afraid of me...  
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After finishing the apple I check the boat for any damage that I didn't find earlier. It takes ten minutes for me to be satisfied with my inspection before I get ready to set out. The kids from before approach the shore close to where I'm docked. They apologize for being rude and I just smile and wave it off, telling them that I'm used to it. They ask me what I am and where I'm going. I smile with a slight bit of pride and say "I'm a pirate on my way to the Grand Line." Their eyes widen almost immediately. One of them asks why I didn't try to steal if I'm a pirate and I just shrug. "It's not in my best interest. I don't need to so I'm not gonna try." This confused them but they shake it off. The kids wave from the shore as I set sail, the sun setting on the horizon.  
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I travel for eight days before the next island comes into view. It's almost night fall by the time I dock. I contemplate sleeping in the sand what I hear someone panicking. My big brother instincts kick in and I rush to find the source of the voice. The sounds lead me into a heavily forested area. Pushing my way through tall grass and bushes I see a little girl getting attacked by a wolf. I run over, putting myself in between the girl and the wolf. The wolf attacks me, leaving big gashes on my arm that I used to protect my face and neck. The next time the wolf charges at me I deliver a strong right hook to its jaw. The wolf hits the ground, getting up and swaying gently before running off.

The girl who had watched the entire thing runs up to me and hugs me, thanking me for saving her. I check her over for injuries but she seems fine. Taking my good hand in hers she leads me to the town. As we approach the town square I see a group of people chattering nervously with each other. The little girl sees her parents and lets go of my hand, running over to them and giving them big hugs. There is a bit of talk between them and the girls points to me and all the townspeople's eyes shift to where I stand. This makes me feel anxious. 

The little girl wiggles out of her father's grasp and runs over to me. She grabs my good hand and leads me over to others, though I'm slightly hesitant about following. The girl's parents thank me for saving their daughter and I smile a little and say that it wasn't that big of a deal as I try to hide my injuries, but I wasn't quick enough to do so and the town doctor was called. I sit on the ledge of a fountain as the doctor cleans and bandages the wounds. I thank the doctor and get up to go back to my boat, but the little girl's parents offer me a place to stay for the night. At first I decline, not really wanting to intrude or be a bother but the girl looks at me with wide eyes like Lu used to and I gave in.

The little girl convinces her parents to let her sleep in the living room so I wouldn't be lonely. After awhile she turns to me and asks if I could tell her a story to help her sleep. I smile and recount the tales of giant tigers, bears, and crocodiles on Dawn Island and how I once fought I pirate who was doing bad things. She listens to each line with wide eyes until she eventually slips into sleep. Not long after I fall asleep as well.  
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The next morning I set out with a new blanket and pillow from the townspeople. I had given the girl the number for my Den Den Mushi so she could call me if she wanted to hear more stories. Her parents thanked me for being so kind and I smile, telling them about how much she reminded me of my little brothers, who I miss a lot and how it was fun to have someone to talk to. I wave to the little girl as I sail further and further away, only stopping when she is no longer visible.

I had gotten a picture with the small girl and I grab my journal to add it to the others. Above the photo I write the date, the name of the island, and the girl's name. I sincerely hope that I do get to see her again, but I can't be certain that I ever will.  
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The girl calls to check up on me every couple of days. Each time I tell her new stories of my travel. One day there's another voice with her when she calls. I pick up with a "Hiya..." and I can hear her say "See, I told you he was real!" Apparently she got in an argument with one of the other kids on the island about her meeting a pirate. When the other kid says something mean to her I curse them out and tell them to mind their own business. The kid must've been quite shocked because the girl giggles. We spend another half hour chatting and she tells me that she learned how to write so we could send each other letters. I smile, and ask if I should send the first letter and she tells me no because she wants to. I chuckle and agree and tell her that I await her letter.

Maybe two days later a News Coo stops by my boat and hands me a letter. I open it and read it. Though the handwriting is messy I smile. Taking a few minutes to write a response I give it to the News Coo to deliver. They fly off and I look at the girl's letter once more before carefully placing it in a small treasure chest. I can tell now that my journey is going to be a little less lonely and whole lot better.


	21. The Halfway Point

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

I've been sailing for six months at the most, but its hard to tell since I lost track of time awhile ago. I have reached the entrance point to the Grand Line. Before crossing over I make sure everything is tightly secured so I don't lose any of it. Reverse Mountain is dangerous, even more so for a devil fruit user like me. I steer my way into the entrance of Reverse Mountain and the water flow is strong enough to launch me forward the rest of the way. The savage waters smash against my small boat and leave me soaked. As I'm hit by more and more water the more I struggle to stay conscious. It takes a few more splashes before the inevitable happens.

*Switch to ?? P.O.V.*

A small boat drifts by the shore of the island my compatriots and I are stopped on. From the looks of it the boat has just crossed over Reverse Mountain. My compatriots dismissed it because it seemed empty besides maybe a few food crates but something feels wrong to me. Pulling out a telescope I get a closer look at the ship. A form catches my eye and I give a panic call, signaling to my compatriots that something's wrong. With my instruction they bring the boat to the sand and pull out what appears to be the body of a kid. 

I start standard medical procedure. Relief strikes me when I get a heartbeat from the kid. I start checking for injuries that can be taken care of while the kid's unconscious but find nothing but a couple of scrapes and bruises. I request that the kid be moved closer to our campfire so they can get warmed up. As soon as they're moved and covered with a blanket I sit nearby to keep an eye on them.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I feel the warmth of flames flickering by my side. Everything hurts from my head to the smallest bones in my toes. I try to open my eyes, but I find it extremely difficult. I manage to get my eyes open. The first thing I see is a bobcat. Or is it a mink? I don't know. They don't seem to be paying attention so I try to sit up. The other person notices me moving and rushes over and helps prop me up. This catches the attention of apparently everyone else that they're traveling with because they start to circle. The person starts asking a bunch of questions, like what my name is, what year it is, how old I am, and if I knew where I was.

*Switch to ?? P.O.V.*

"Glaceir. It's XXXX. I'm fifteen. I'm in the Grand Line." The kid, who's apparently older than I am by two years, mumbles his responses to my questions. I tell him that I need to do a couple tests to check if he's ok and he just nods. I light a match and ask him to follow the light with just his eyes, and he does pretty good at it for a few moments before his eyes flick away from it. I put the match out and ask if anything hurts. He nods and grumbles out "just 'bout everything." with a confident (bordering on cocky) smile. To my surprise he looks me in the eye and says "Just tell me about the concussion I got and get this over with." I was so confused because I've never had someone able to diagnose themselves faster than I can. I ask them how they knew and they shrug a little, rambling on about having enough medical knowledge to diagnose common things like that. 

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

The next hour is spent going over every simple test to check my health that I've ever known existed. The doctor person introduces themselves as Bo, and despite looking like an adult he's actually two years younger than I am. The people that travel with Bo have slowly inched closer over time and it was starting to stress me out. I start to divert my gaze to the ground and I begin to stutter while I speak. 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V*

This Glaceir person starts to show signs of an anxiety attack and I ask them what's bothering him. He glances around at all of my compatriots. He mutters "Too close..... Too many..." softly under his breath before clenching his fist on the blanket that was still covering his legs. After a short period of thinking I realize he's referring to my compatriots. 

A request for more space is all it takes for them to move away. Glaceir gives me what appears to be a look of gratitude. I ask Glaceir what made him think crossing Reverse Mountain alone in such a small boat was a good idea and he shrugs. He tells me that he's got a grudge against a man who live here in the Grand Line and he didn't really want to drag anyone into his drama. I just nod and then he says he's got a bone to pick with the government afterwards. This peaks my interest and I ask what problem he has against the government.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Bo asks about my issues with the government. Looking around to make sure no one else is listening I tell him about a secret government project that was stopped twelve years ago. Bo gets a confused look and, in a shushed voice, I tell him about what happened not only to me but a few other kids and even a couple adults. Bo gets somewhat of a horrified expression and I ask him not to rat me out since the Marines are currently still searching for me. Bo smiles and say that I needn't worry about that. I ask why and he informs me that him and his travel group are part of the Revolutionary Army and a wave of relief flows through me.

We talk till noon the next day about Project Cinaplume in great detail. That's when I decide that I needed to get a move on. Bo nods, mostly understanding my uneasiness about staying in the same place for extended amounts of time. The Revo Army troop supplies me with some dry clothes and a cloak because why the hell not. Cloaks are cool. Anyway, I give a two-finger salute before going back to my boat. I grin when I see that it's been repaired by the Revo Army and I give silent thanks.

Just before I open the sail to catch the breeze I hear someone calling my name. Just as I look to see what was going on I see Bo run over to me, an over the shoulder duffel bag slung around his arm. He stops by the side of the boat and says he wants to come with me. My eyes widen with surprise. He rubs the back of his head with his hand. Or is it a paw? Not important. I feel hesitant about saying yes because I'm not sure about his abilities. So I ask if he's got any tricks up his sleeve that I'm not aware of and he nods. Bo snaps his fingers and says "Plasmal Shift!" and he starts to morph. After a few long seconds he's changed from a bobcat mink and into a "normal human" if you discount the numerous scars. 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

"I ate the Purazuma Purazuma No Mi, making me a plasma person!" I say with excitement as Glaceir watches with what I hope is amazement as I melt down parts of my arm and reform it again. I think any doubt he may have had has dissipated now because he welcomes me aboard. I board the ship and set my stuff down. Glaceir tells me that he's also a devil fruit user. I ask him what fruit he ate and he tells me that he ate the Kaunta Kaunta No Mi, giving him the ability to counter- or bounce back as he put it- enemy devil fruit attacks and even cannon balls. He seems pretty proud of his abilities and rightfully so, he's got a near perfect devil fruit for being a pirate in the Grand Line.

As we sail Glaceir speaks proudly of his brothers he left in the East Blue and how great they are going to be. Eventually though he stops talking and the only sound remaining to break the silence is that of small waves hitting against the side of the boat. I nearly jump out of my skin when a Den Den Mushi starts to ring. Glaceir picks up the call and there is a loud "Hello!" from the other side. Glaceir chuckles and responds, telling the person on the other side of the call that he's got big news. The person squeals excitedly. 

I get introduced to a little girl that Glaceir is friends with. She sounded so pleased when she heard that Glaceir managed to finally get a new crew mate. After our introduction I let Glaceir and the little girl chat for as long as they want. 

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

After talking to my friend for a few minutes she says she has to go study and hangs up. I slip the DDM back into it's little compartment and set my sights back to the sky so I can navigate. Neither me nor Bo speak anymore, but that's not really something that is necessary at the moment so I just leave it be. 

Neither of us say a word until night fall. Bo offers to take night watch, but I shake my head, saying that he should probably just rest. He clearly did not like this and tells me that I need to rest as well. I try to argue but he takes me by the arm and pulls me down beside him. This just upsets me and I attempt to struggle and get away. Bo sighs, slightly annoyed that I am not listening to a single thing he says. 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I'm getting frustrated at my new Captain's refusal to go to bed. Trying to get him to lay next to me wasn't working so with a slight bit of desperation I drag him onto my torso and hold him there tightly. He struggles for a few seconds before slowly stopping as he notices the warmth that I radiate. He goes completely still and begins to look less distressed than before. "If I let you stay like this will you at least try to go to sleep?" I ask. He nods and I reach over and grab the blanket he had lent me and cover us both with it. 

He falls asleep surprisingly fast. Shifting him off of my torso slightly I sigh, he was gonna be really difficult to deal with. I get dragged out of my thoughts when Glaceir does his best to snuggle closer, causing a brief moment of stillness to linger in our surroundings afterward. He looks so peaceful when he sleeps, almost innocent and unknowing of the world's problems. But I know that not to be true, as he has spoken about many a terror that even the world does not know of. That's part of why I decided to come with him, to learn more of what the world does not know. Right now though that feels very unimportant as I look at my captain, such a small being with the heart of a gold but lacking the ability to trust in others. 

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I wake up the next morning cuddled close to Bo, who was still sound asleep. A slight blush creeps across my face as I realize just how close we actually are. I want to move, but at the same time all the exhaustion from previous nights without sleep finally hit me all at once and I let myself drift back into a deep sleep.


	22. Does The Score Get Settled?

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

I wake up to a the sound of lightning and thunderclouds rolling through the sky. I bolt up from my resting spot and grab out for the sail ropes. Bo sits up and asks what's wrong before a crack of thunder makes him jump. I barely notice his movements. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit...." repeats over and over in my mind. A horrendously strong gust of wind nearly flips the boat, followed by a large wave crashing into the side. The boat collides with what I can only assume is a jagged rock and nearly breaks in half, tossing Bo and I into the water. I manage to grab hold of a large piece of debris before losing conciseness.

*Switch to bird's eye view*

I'm scouting the seas after the large storm the passed by yesterday. At first it appears like there's nothing wrong, but then something drifting in the water catches my attention. As I get closer I realize that the thing I saw drifting was actually two kids clinging onto a bit of boat wreckage. I grab the kids and make way towards my ship. The crew gathers as I carefully lay the kids down on deck as the nurses were called.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

My eyelid feels heavy as I begin to regain consciousness. I glance around, confused as to where I am. I catch sight of a few people who look like nurses hovering over my Captain. My mind flashes to when Glaceir and I were speaking about medicine and how he mentioned that most painkillers may make him violently ill. Mustering all the strength that I have left I shout "Get away from him!" while getting up. The nurses begin to tell me to calm down and that they're medical professionals as I push my way between them and my captain, turning to them and with one hell of a alarmingly loud guttural snarl I say "Give him those painkillers and you'll only make the situation worse than it already is! The chemical compounds used to make the drug cause him to become violently ill!" The nurses back away and I catch a glimpse of all of the things we had on our boat, including my bag. I race over to grab it as fast as I can, pulling out soaked materials as I sit beside Glaceir. 

The nurses mutter about the materials needing possibly hours to dry before they can be used and I give them a sideways glance before encasing a specific amount of herbs in my palms. I release a short burst of heat around the herbs and when I open my palms all of them have dried. I pour a little bit of water into a bowl and begin mashing the herbs and mixing them in. Taking the paste that it makes I apply to every open wound. I dry some of my homemade bandages and apply them as I tear off the ones that the nurses had applied.

*Switch to bird's eye view*

The crew and I watch the nurses as they begin to treat the smaller kid. When the other kid wakes up he yells at them to get away from the kid and forced his way between the nurses and the other kid. The nurses try to convince the kid to move so they can help and the snarl that comes out of that kid is enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stick straight out. The kid shouts about how the other can't be exposed to certain chemical compounds found within the painkillers the nurses were using without becoming ill. He the proceeds to grab the duffle bag from among the other things that I had found and brought onboard. Scrounging through it he grabs a few herbs and somehow manages to dry them in seconds. He uses those herbs to make a medicine and applies it to the other kid's wounds.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

There is lot's of shouting from a person who I can only assume is Bo. I can't tell what's going on. I feel something being put on my wounds. I keep trying to wake up. Nothing is working.

It's been maybe an hour since the shouting and I finally am able to get my eyes to flicker open. I let out a groan as I sit up and within seconds I can feel Bo helping to prop me up. I look around, still unable to process my surroundings as my senses start to kick in. I lock eyes with a man in the crowd. After a moment I recognize the man and I give him a nasty glare. 

I force myself to stand, a low growl resonating from within me. Reaching for my pockets I equip my claw gloves before getting into a slightly defensive stance. The man seems confused, as do the rest of the others. After taking the time to formulate a battle plan I switch to an offensive stance, my eyes narrowing as I lock onto my target. The man steps closer to where I stand, and away from the others, and I lash out with the Claws, catching him off guard and leaving a deep gash in his side. Or at least so I thought.

My attack initiates a fight between me and him. The gash heals over quickly and the man goes on the defensive. For every slash I take it heals just as fast. I go to throw a punch but end up missing and to stop myself from falling face first onto the deck I land on my hands. The man takes the opportunity and steps on both my hands as an attempt to stop my assault, and it works for no more than a few seconds as I mumble "Partial Bulk" under my breath. Muscle mass builds in my legs and they lengthen to be just long enough for me to wrap them around the man's head. After doing so I start to lean backwards and the man comes crashing down head first on the deck. Now out of his grasp I roll away and get up.

Shortly after I get up the man begins to change. His arms become phoenix wings and he takes off, flying low against the side of the cabins. I give chase, using my momentum to run up and on the wall as I get near the man. Just as I run out of cabin wall to run on I give an extra amount of strength into my leap and dig the Claws into the man's shoulders as I pounce. He falls and I leap away to escape receiving unnecessary damage. 

The man appears to get angry. He begins to attack, lashing out with his phoenix talons. He brings his talons down on my face and one catches the skin above my eyebrow and rips it all the down my cheek, removing my eye in the process. I scream in pain as blood gushes from the wound and the copper taste fills my mouth. The man stops his attack and rushes over and begins to apologize. He gets close. When he's close enough to be able to touch my shoulder is when I lash out.

I throw an uppercut to the underside of his jaw and send him flying back. "You gotta get your head in the game Bluebird..." I snarl as he looks at me with surprise. He hesitates, appearing to consider all his options. I use this moment of hesitation to spring forward. He braces to block a punch to the side, but that's not what this attack is. I drag my fingers across his upper torso, calling out "Absolute Cancel!" in the process. Since I still have the Claws on it leave a rather large scratch. The man tries to activate his Phoenix powers to heal and I chuckle.

"Absolute Cancel. An ability that when used on a devil fruit user will temporarily sever their access to any of their powers." Everyone looks at me as I explain my ability. Then I see the fear building in the man's eyes. I toss aside the Claws, opting to lunge at my opponent while they're processing the information. The first blow I land is a strong low sweeping kick to the side of his legs, where the knee is. I can hear the bones in both legs snap and he falls to the ground, but before he hits the ground I swing another kick at his left arm, snapping it. A few ribs shatter from the remaining force of the impact. When the man finally hits the ground I sit above him and land a few punches to the face, probably breaking his nose.

It isn't till I'm about to throw the killing punch that I stop to think about my actions, about the consequences of going through with the last punch. I lower my fist slowly and release the grip I had gotten on his shirt. I stand up and walk away, hazily looking for Bo.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

When Glaceir releases the person from his grasp and walks away I use my plasma ability to make a crate for him to sit on. I rush over to him and lead him towards the crate. As soon as he sits I start to clean and bandage the wound on his face. The doctors and nurses were freaking out, and I feel guilty for not helping the most injured first. I think Glaceir notices because he tells me to go do whatever it is that I think I need to do. I nod and grab the jar that contained the rest of the medicine I had made earlier and walk over to the doctors and nurses as Glaceir continues to keep his back to everyone. The doctors and nurses look at while I set the jar down beside them. One of the doctors nods a thanks for the medicine but I still feel slightly useless. Thinking about what else I can do it clicks. I hold my hand very close to one of the worst of the wounds. One of the nurses starts to tell me off, but goes dead silent at what I did next.

My hand melts down to an undefinable mass of plasma. That mass of plasma connects to plasma in the person's blood, and using that connection I'm able to straighten each of the the broken bones and mend them. As soon as I finish with that I pull my hand away and stand up. I hurry back over to Glaceir to check if he had any worse wounds.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Later that evening, after it was confirmed that the man I had nearly killed was going to be fine, the crew's captain asks/demands to speak with me. His first question is "Why did you attack him?" and with a bit of hatred and spite I respond with " When I was two he killed the few people I had to call family." 

After that any murmurs from the crew suddenly become silent and a lot of expressions change from anger to understanding. Or was it pity? After pausing to think over my response the crew's captain asks "Then why didn't you kill him?" I cross my arms and glance down to the floor. "As someone who has experienced the loss of a sibling, both younger and older, I know how bad the pain it causes is. I don't want to be the reason that kind of pain is inflicted upon others..." As I wrap up my response I can feel the remaining tension nearly disappear completely.

A few minutes later the man I had fought, who I know as Marco the Phoenix, hobbles over to his captain with crutches. Taking a seat by the leg of his captain's chair he looks at me. He must have heard my conversation with his captain because rather than looking angry his expression was that of guilt. I look to the ground, not exactly liking being in close proximity to him.

A man with a pompadour hairstyle walks up to me and asks what my favorite food is. I hesitantly tell him that my favorite thing to eat is honeycomb and he just chuckles and tells me he was talking about for things like dinner. Again, I reply with honeycomb. It's then he realizes I'm being entirely serious and just nods. I ask why he wanted to know and he tells me that Bo and I have been invited to eat with the commanders. Before I'm able to ask any questions he leaves.

With so many people on the ship I decide to stick to Bo's side. We're leaning up against some railing, Bo's arm wrapped around me as I lean against him. It's then that I start to feel the exhaustion. My eyelid droops and I fall asleep.

I'm woken up nearly four hours later by dinner call. Bo and I stay on deck while everyone rushes towards the Galley for dinner. Marco stop while walking by us to ask if we were gonna go. Bo just shakes his head and I start mumbling about there being too many people. Marco offers to get the other commanders to come sit out on deck so we can talk and both of us just say "eh." before Marco hobbles into the galley. A few minutes later all of the commanders come out of the galley and take a seat near us. I start to feel slightly uncomfortable and push myself closer to Bo.

Pompadour man brings both me an Bo plates with our favorite foods on them. While Bo doesn't waste his time to start eating I just look around for a few seconds. I don't really like eating in front of others but I also don't want to be impolite so I take little nibbles off the honeycomb.

"Me? Im fifteen, why?" Most the commanders almost choke on their food when I reply to the very first question that Pompadour had asked. Pompadour looks at Bluebird(Marco) with a wide grin before saying "You got your ass handed to you by a fifteen year old?" Bluebird himself seems quite shocked but shrugs. Bo chuckles a little and says "Spite can be a dangerous weapon, and Glaceir clearly knows how to use it." and everyone just laughs. 

A cold breeze blows by and I shiver, which brings my attention to the holes in my clothes. I curse under my breath and one of the commanders, the sixteenth one I think, offers to make me some new ones. I start to ramble about that being necessary but they're already gone. The come back ten minutes later with an aquamarine half-sleeve shirt and some sky blue shorts made with stretchy fabric. I give my thanks and pull my ripped and bloody old shirt off, temporarily showing off my scars. No one says anything as I pull my new shirt on and the rest of the evening is spent telling stories.


	23. Return Of The Guardian

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

Bo and I are still on Whitebeard's ship. We have stopped on the closest island, which thankfully is uninhabited. I was chatting with Pompadour when a call is sent out about two approaching ships, one of them clearly a marine ship. Me and Bo look at each other before diving into some dense bushes and heavy foliage while Pompadour rushes over to a few of the other commanders.

*Switch to Marine P.O.V.*

We pull up beside Whitebeard's ship, I in an unofficial, nonstandard ship and the others in the usual ship. The sixteenth commander peers over the edge of the Moby Dick and asks us what we wanted. I hold up a picture of a kid with cobalt blue hair. "He disappeared twelve years ago and we have reports of him being spotted here recently." The sixteenth commander shakes his head, saying they've never seen the kid before. The other marines in my crew keep asking other questions but I focus my attention to the island. There's a shrill noise that appears to be a bird call but I know otherwise. That was the signal we agreed on.

"Oi, men, kids' not here. Y'all can move onto the next island. I'm gonna stay here for a little longer." My men nod and get ready to head out. I can feel the pirates giving me odd looks from behind. I watch the others sail until I could no longer see them before pulling off my Marine cap and jacket and tossing them into the sea. I grab a letter and give it to a News Coo, who takes off to deliver it. I walk into the cabin and grab a sword from counter.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

As the man ditches his Marine garb, Bo and I come back into the open. The man disappears into the cabin of his ship before quickly reappearing, a weapon in hand. He jumps to the shore and walks over to us and presents me with the sword. I take the sword and begin to inspect it. Green hilt with the Scithyrian symbol laced onto it, the blade attached to a green orb. I apply a slight bit of pressure to the blade and it turn in the hilt, and a huge smile forms on my face.

Pleased with my new weapon I hand the man a new hat and coat, each with the Sakura Jolly Rodger, and say "Welcome, Bartholomew Jammersway, to the Sakura Pirates." The man nods as he dons his new coat and hat.

*Switch to Marco's P.O.V.*

We all watch in surprise as the marine trades his job for a position in the kids crew. Turns out they had been communicating back and forth for awhile now and had this all planned out. Thatch asks the kid how long they've known each other and both the ex-marine and the kid get and awkward look. "I uh... um.... I'm kinda responsible for the kid being taken from his parents in the first place...." are the words that slip from the ex-marine's mouth. He puts his hands up in defense before stuttering out "I also did my best to watch over him for the entire time he was in captivity and I helped his father break him out!"

I look at the kid to see if he knew this, and he must have because he didn't seem bothered. Thatch and I exchange worried glances with each other and some of the crew. The kids ignore the glances and converse with the ex-marine about his position among the crew.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V*

"It'll be best for you to be Vice Captain because you have a better grasp on how things work." Bartholomew nods and tells me that his ship is ready to go whenever we are. I nod and mention that we've got quite a bit of stuff to move onto it. Bo says, and he's very excited about this, that he may be able to do all at once. I give him a slightly confused glance. He takes a few steps before standing with his feet a shoulders length apart and his arms crossed. He then positions his thumbs to point past his pinkie fingers. He shouts "Plasmal Shift, form of Thunderbird!" and his body begins to morph.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

My arms morph into a large pair of wings, my legs into scaled talons as I morph into a Thunderbird. By the time I'm done I'm about the same size as the ship Bartholomew sails on. I take to the air before 'hovering' above Glaceir's and I's belongings on the deck of Whitebeard's ship. I pick up everything with one talon as the Whitebeard Pirates watch in surprise and confusion.

I carefully drop our belongings on Bartholomew's ship before landing back on the shore next to Glaceir, shifting back into my human form. Glaceir, who looks extremely impressed, smacks my back gently (as high as he could reach that is, I an six feet tall after all) and joking asks why I'd keep a form like a secret. I just shrug and rub the back of my neck. 

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

We wave to the Whitebeard Pirates as we sail away. Bartholomew takes to the steering wheel as Bo and I situate our belongings. I do my best to hurry and as soon as I'm done I race out to Bartholomew so I can navigate. Bo follows soon after, dragging me away so he can re-wrap the bandages over my eye, or at least where it used to be. He asks if I was having any trouble with lack of depth perception and I say "Not really, I was blind in that eye anyway so..." before giving an awkward expression. Bo just stares at me before sighing and continuing to do his job. He asks if I was hurt anywhere else and I tell him that I think I got a few scratches on my chest and he tells me to take off my shirt so he can check on them.

I tug my shirt off over my head while Bo mixes up some new medicine. I see him glance at me before looking away. Both of us seem slightly uncomfortable, for me it's because I feel slightly exposed, not really enjoying having my scars just out in the open. When the medicine is ready Bo turns to me and starts taking care of the the scratches, applying medicine to the scrapes and putting small bandages over each one.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Glaceir pulls his shirt off while I prepare the medicine. I glance over at him and it finally hits me about how muscular he is. I look away, trying to focus on the medicine. When I finish it I start tending to his scratches. A slight blush covers my face as I try to hurry. 

As soon as all the wounds are taken care of I turn back to my med bag and put the remainder of the medicine in a jar while Glaceir puts his shirt back on. I get up to bring my bag to my sleeping quarters and Glaceir races back over to Bartholomew so he can navigate.


	24. The Family Gathers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter consists of a made up language. If any of these things have real meanings in an actual language please tell me

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I've been trying to navigate us towards the next milestone on our journey but Bartholomew refuses to listen, saying that there is somewhere extremely important that we have to go to first. I let Bartholomew do the steering though, cause he knows what he's doing and is obviously not gonna change our route no matter how much I complain. Instead, I watch the horizon for approaching ships.

Growing bored of watching the sea I decide to check in on Bo. Wandering down to the makeshift med bay I peek inside. Bo must have just taken a bath because there was a towel on floor just by the door. There's movement in the left most side of the room and it grabs my attention. My face heats up when I see Bo, hair still soaked enough that it's dripping, shuffling through his bag for a clean shirt. I notice that Bo has quite a few stitch-scars covering his back and arms, and there's even a few that wrap around to his chest.

I stare for a few moments longer before sneaking back onto the deck. Climbing to the roof of the cabins I chose there as my sitting spot and lay down. Since there aren't any present dangers I space out, daydreams pushing away the rest of my thoughts.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

Glaceir gets up and wanders off, most likely bored. I assume he's going to check on Bo. I keep my eye to horizon, preparing for finally reaching our destination.

Glaceir comes back a minute later and he looks slightly flustered. He climbs his way to the top of the cabins before laying down. I give a small warning that we are getting close to our destination and that he should probably change cause it's gonna get pretty warm. I don't think he hears me, but if he did he didn't respond.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I snap back into reality when the air temperature starts rising. Sitting up I realize that I'm drenched in sweat and take off my shirt, tossing it onto the deck. Bartholomew shouts that we're pretty much are at our destination and I nod. Shortly after Bo emerges from the med bay.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I hear Bartholomew's shouting that we are close to our stop and shuffle out of the med bay. When I open the door and go out to the deck I see a shirt lying on the ground. I recognize it as one of Glaceirs and look around for him. It's not until Bartholomew points that I see Glaceir, sitting upright on the cabin's roof with the light reflecting off of his heavily scared skin.

A new heat, one I've never before experienced, forms in my face and my stomach knots. I worry a little, thinking maybe something is wrong with my cybernetics, the ones that keep my major organs functioning, and maybe they had started to fail. After assuring myself that wasn't the issue I still have the feeling, and decide that I'll investigate it later.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Bo seems to freak out for a second and I try to ask him what's wrong, but Bartholomew hollers about our destination being in sight. Both Bo and I look out and see the shorelines to a couple different islands. "Welcome, Sakuras, to the Scytherian Archipelago." Bartholomew starts, before turning to me and adds "And to your family's home. Your father is waiting for us on Icurian island." and points to the farthest of the islands.

The new information tumbles in my head. Home island? My dad? I feel excited, but also cautious and concerned. As we get closer to Icurian island I can begin to see somebody standing on the shore, waving at us. 

We dock as close as possible to the shore and make our way onto the beach. Waiting for us there is an old man. He has fluffy cobalt blue hair, just like me. Bo and Bartholomew stand back as I approach the man. As I get closer I can tell that his eyes have a set of three long scars each, the scars crossing down his face. He opens his eyes and it hits me that he's blind, probably from whatever gave him those scars. He reaches out a hand and for a moment I stop and hesitate, still feeling worried, but eventually other emotions flood my conscious mind and I near tackle him with a hug.

The old man seems surprised for a moment, not moving except of his chest as he breathes. He then runs his hand through my hair and says, in the softest voice I've ever heard, "Welcome home son. You may not remember me, but that's okay. My name is Bazil." and I can feel the tears well in my eye. "I've missed you so, so much..." he mumbles and I let go. Taking his hand I bring it to my face, so he could feel out what I look like.

Very slowly, he traces my facial features with his fingers. When he gets to what is now an empty eye socket with a scar running halfway down my face he stops. "What happened here?" he asks. I tell him of my fight with a Phoenix and he chuckles. "You fought old man Newgate's first commander and made it out alive didja?" Bazil has a goofy grin on his face. "Correction," I say, ever so proudly, "I fought Bluebird and won." Bazil gets a surprised look before breaking out in laughter.

*Switch to Bazil's P.O.V.*

My son tells me of his fight with Newgate's first commander and I laugh, so very proud of what he has become and how far he has come since the last time I saw him. "We best be going, the rest of our family is waiting." Glaceir gives me a confused look. "There's more?" he asks and I nod, saying "There is fourteen more." Glaceir's eyes widen and he calls over his crewmates. He takes me by the hand and I lead the way.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Bartholomew and I walk behind Glaceir and his father. Throughout our entire walk Bazil listens fondly as Glaceir tells him all about our adventures and his life in the East Blue. Before long though we make it to what appears to be a small village and Bazil calls out "Shisa, kari vila mak!"* and people of all ages peer from windows and doors. Upon seeing Glaceir, two of said people rush over and hug him, mumbling and muttering through tears of joy about being happy to see him again.

Slowly but surely the others approach and introduce themselves. The first is a man with long hair who bows and says "My name is Magera and these are brothers Ming and Brother." The two people beside him bow as well and Glaceir nods. Next is what appear to be a set of quadruplets. The smallest one smiles awkwardly. "M-My name is Thorn, and these are my brothers, Titan, Python, and Viper." As each brother is called the put up a hand. Two others approach Glaceir next and gove a cheery grin before introducing themselves as Shimoko and Rentico. Two fox mink boys hide behind a taller man who introduces himself as Bastion and the two boys as Dixon and Warner. The people who hugged Glaceir introduce each orher as Mocha and Choco. Glaceir nods, taking in everything at once and trying to give his brain time to process everything.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

An hour later when everyone has calmed down a voice from the largest building in the village calls out "Comogate, tosi gata!"* and everyone starts to head to the building. Of course me and my crew follow and when we arrive we are met by a young woman with a fox tail. The woman introduces herself as Vixen, or just Vix or Vixie for short. She leads us to a table and we sit down as she starts to dish up meals. 

After serving everyone Vixen sits across from and asks how my travels have been going since she had heard that we didn't really have a navigator besides me. She just nods and commends me on getting this far. 

It takes a few minutes for the others to realize that I haven't touched my food yet. Dad asks if something's wrong and I point to my teeth and tell him that I eat awkwardly and don't like to eat in front of others because it often leads to judgy looks. Everyone looks at each other and in no less than a second both Dad and a few of my new siblings flash their teeth, each having teeth very similar to mine. They all assure me that there's no reason to be worried about the things I can't control.

At the end of dinner I help Vixen gather up and do the dishes. For awhile we're silent, leaving nothing but the sound of running water. That is, until Vixen asks if she could join my crew as our navigator. Shocked, I go still. I think it over. "That would be nice, having my older sister as my navigator..." I say as I go back to scrubbing the cup in my hands. "Is that a yes?" she asks and I nod.

Later we meet up with everyone else and I immediately seek out Bo and Bartholomew and tell them the good news. Vixen tells everyone else and there's a cheer of congratulations. The man named Bastion says that there's a house made up for us to stay in during the night and we nod. He turns and leads the way, us following close behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Authors note  
> A couple of the things said are in Scytherian, which is Glaceir's native tongue. The translations for each are provided below. 
> 
> "Shisa, kari vila mak!"* ("Gather, he is home!")
> 
> "Comogate, tosi gata!"* ("Everyone, dinner's ready!")


	25. A Parent’s Gift

*Glaceir P.O.V.*

The next morning while eating breakfast my father says he has something to show me. I ask him what he wants to show me and he tells me that I have to wait until after we're done eating. I nod and start to speed up my eating pace just a little.

After breakfast dad leads me, Bo, Bartholomew, and Vixen to a shore on the opposite side of the island from where we came from. Sitting in the water was a somewhat large and very old looking ship. It's figurehead was the head of a snake with its mouth hanging open. I walk over to the ship and run my hand alongs it's side, the wood smooth from many years of use. I look at my dad, feeling slightly confused, and he smiles and says "This is the Shiversnake. She has been in our family for the past four centuries. She brought my crew and I across the four seas for sixty years, but now we're to old to sail anymore so I'm passing her into your care." After taking a moment to process my father's words my eyes start to water. I run back over to him and give him the biggest hug I can.

That evening my crew loads our stuff and supplies onto the Shiversnake. Bartholomew talks to Vixen about our next destination. Bo says he has something very important to talk to my father about. Feeling slightly bored I decide to take a seat on the figurehead, watching the waves lap against the hull. My thoughts start to drift and I can barely just hear Bartholomew calling to me.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

Vixen and I discuss the best course to take put of the archipelago. Vixen says that we have to figure out where we want to go first. I turn to the figurehead where Glaceir is sitting and call out his name. No response, either he's ignoring me, lost in thought, or having a breakdown. Worried a bit I walk over to him and place a hand gently on his shoulder.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Someone touches my shoulder and I jump, getting dragged out of my thoughts. I turn my head to see who it is. It's Bartholomew, and he looks a little worried. "You okay?" he asks and I nod, looking back out over the water. I hear him sigh and he sits down beside me. "Overwhelmed?" He questions and I shake my head, saying "Right now, everything that's going on or has happened, it's like a dream come true. I've finally met my father, I have a family, I've got a ship and a crew of my own..." I stop, my brain processing everything and yet nothing, all at the same time. "I don't want to disappoint anyone but.... I.... I guess I'm just kinda scared or worried is all. Normally pirate crews don't have a kid as their captain and others might take it as a sign of my weakness. I don't want to be the reason you guys get hurt, or worse..."

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

When Glaceir finishes speaking I try my best to hold in my laughter, but I end up chuckling. Glaceir glares at me and asks me whats so funny. "You don't have to worry bout us, we know how to handle ourselves. You don't want people to see your age as weakness? Prove to them that strength is not determined by a social construct such as time, show them that you are better than what they say. You can't let regret or insecurities control the way you think because that's what will bring out your weaknesses." I try to be soft spoken. "I may be ten years older than you and have more experience in terms of leadership. Vixen may be ten years older than you and have plenty more experience in a certain subject than you. Bo may have more medical skills or better information gathering skills than you. Those things don't matter though, because you're the best fit for the role of captain." Glaceir seems to get even more confused, asking "How? How am I the best fit?" and I smile. "You can think critically. In the heat of battle or at the hit of an unexpected storm you are able to analyze the scenario and chose the best course of action and then act upon it. Not only that but your consideration for others and caution when approaching a tricky situation is something that even most adults don't have." I glance at him and can see tears welling in his eye. 

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Hearing all the kind things coming from Bartholomew reminds me of the things Akagami said to me many years ago and it makes my want to cry. I sniffle and wipe the tears from my eyes before thanking Bartholomew, who tells me that the only reason he came over in the first time was to ask where I wanted to go. After a few moments of thinking I tell him to let Vixen decide and he nods before standing up and walking back over to Vixen. 

I look back out over the sea, waiting for Bo. I hear the rope ladder creak as someone, who I assume is Bo, climbs up it to get on board the ship. I start humming a shanty as the sound of footsteps get closer and closer. The person sits beside me and I glance over. It was Bo, as I had thought. I lean against his shoulder and yawn. "Le's go bed..." I mumble and Bo nods. Wrapping his arms around me he picks me up and carries me to the room that was designated as Captain's Sleeping Quarters. He lays me down on the bed and pulls a blanket over me. When he goes to leave I grab onto the side of his shirt, mumbling "Don't like sleeping alone..." with slurred, sleepy words.

Bo hesitates for a second before crawling into the bed next me. Letting go of his shirt I roll so that my back faces him, murmuring "Night..." as I drift into sleep.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

After tucking Glaceir into his bed I go to take my leave but before I get to far he reaches out and grabs hold of my shirt. He mumbles something about not liking or wanting to sleep alone and a slight blush creeps across my face. Hesitating for a second I wonder if I could just slip away, but eventually I come to the realization that Glaceir probably wouldn't let go till I laid down. After a quiet sigh I crawl into the bed, though I decided to lay on top of the covers. He lets go of my shirt and turns his back to me before murmuring out "Night..." I smile and relax a little before whispering "Goodnight..." as my eyelid begins to feel heavy and I to slip into sleep.


	26. The Journey Restarts

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I wake in the morning feeling better than ever. After a moment of orientation I look around the room. Someone shifts next to me and confused I check to see who it is. After realizing that it was Bo laying beside me and I squeaked, falling out of the bed. The thud made from me hitting the floor wakes Bo up and he looks to me with a slightly worried expression while asking if I was okay. I nod, saying that something had just surprised me.

Bo and I get ready for today and head out to the deck. Bartholomew and Vixen were apparently still sleeping so Bo heads to the kitchen and I take a seat on the figurehead. The water seems rather calm, a good sign because it means that there will be easy travel. It also means that there aren't gonna be any storms any time soon. After a few minutes Bo comes out with a couple fruits and sits next to me. He hands me an apple and I take it, biting a chunk off of it and attempting to chew. 

After a couple hours the other two wake and walk out to the deck. Bartholomew calls us off the figurehead so we don't fall in as he starts up the ship. My family gathers on the shore to see us off and I wave until I can no longer can see them. At around noon Bartholomew goes to the kitchen to get something to eat and Vixen takes the helm. 

While in the kitchen Bartholomew screams and I race over to see what's wrong. Standing over Bartholomew is a woman who looks to be very old. I ask the woman if she would leave my vice captain alone and she nods before taking a step back. After getting up Bartholomew asks the woman who she is. "I am the Shiversnake, or its klabouterman that is. You can call me Saprks." 

By now the other two have rushed in. Everyone had confused expressions and Bo begins to ask what a klabouterman is before I smile. "So you're the ship's spirit?! Amazing! I saw you when I was a baby right?" and Saprks nods. I turn to Bo and the others and explain that a klabouterman is the manifested spirit of a ship thats well cared for. They seem to understand. We take turns introducing ourselves. I ask Saprks why she manifested and she shrugs and says "Well, while traveling with your father's crew I got my hands on a devil fruit and haven't been able to un-manifest ever since...." as she crosses her arms behind her back. I ask her what devil fruit she ate and she responds with "I ate the Doragon Doragon No Mi Model: Mosaic, making me a mosaic dragon." 

After a brief talk everyone welcomes Saprks as a member of the crew. The night is spent celebrating before we all head to bed, Saprks choosing to take night watch since she doesn't exactly need to sleep. Once again I drag Bo to my room, though this time he has a sleeping mat set up on the floor. We tell each other "Goodnight" before going to sleep.


	27. Grand Line Hardships

*Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

It's been maybe a week since we left off the Scytherian Archipelago and things have been going pretty well. Our newest crewmate, Saprks, has taken over the position of helmsman so I was in the crows nest watching for storms and enemy ships. Up until now there was nothing, but as we sail a pirate's ship gets closer and closer. I call out a warning for the others and everyone, including myself after I get down from the crows nest, gathers on the front deck. 

When the ship was within cannon fire distance their captain calls out a challenge. Glaceir steps up to accept the challenge. The other ship's captain just chuckles and asks for the real captain saying "There's no way a runt like you is the leader of this puny crew!" and I can see Glaceir's blood begin to boil. As Glaceir starts to retort the other ship's cannon is fired and the cannon ball heads straight towards Glaceir. We don't worry though cause we know Glaceir can handle this himself.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

A cannon goes off and I can see the cannon ball hurtling towards me. Spreading my feet I out myself into position to use Cannon Counter: Bounce Back, one of the many special abilities.

As soon as the cannon ball is a couple feet away I lash out my arm, my fist making contact with the projectile and stopping it in it's place. After a few seconds of being in this position I punch out with twice the amount of force I felt when the cannon ball struck my hand. "Cannon Counter: Bounce Back!" I shout as I send the projectile back to where it came from, taking out their cannon in the process.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I watch in amazement as Glaceir launches a cannon ball back at the ship using nothing but a punch. As soon as Glaceir was finished with the special move he tucked his hands into his pockets and with the most evil expression I've ever seen he says "Bring me their captain."

The first to board the enemy ship was Saprks, who had flown over in half dragon form. Vixen was next, then Bartholomew, who was swinging around a giant.... smithing hammer? Each of them take on as many of the other crew as they can but none of them can seem to get to the captain.

I step back a few paces before getting into Thunderbird stance. "Plasmal Shift!" I point my thumbs across my palm. It takes only a few seconds to morph and then I'm in the air. Swooping over the rest I latch my talons into the captain's shoulder and drop him in front of Glaceir.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

The man starts groveling for mercy as soon as Bo drops his bleeding form onto the ground before me. The scent of copper fills my senses and something in the back of my mind snaps. Suddenly I'm watching from inside my mind, like someone else was in control...

*Switch to Saprks' P.O.V.*

After Bo grabs the captain we all run to the railing to watch what happens. The man starts begging for mercy but something about Glaceir seems off. His usually Azeala eye was now blood red. Glaceir takes a step towards the man, who immediately assumes Glaceir is giving mercy and looks up at him. What happens next is absolutely terrifying...

Glaceir lunges at the man, biting and tearing at his arms and shoulders. At some point Glaceir had equipped claws of some sort and is using them to tear through the man's flesh, all while the man is screaming. The sound cuts off though after Glaceir bites the man neck and rips guy's head clean off. The man's body goes still as blood starts to pool around him. Glaceir though, doesn't seem to want to stop as he starts eating the man, bones and all. The only thing left when Glaceir was done was the man's skull and a portion of his legs. Glaceir stands up and faces the rest of the man's crew. Covered in blood he smiles and chuckles about them being next.

*Switch to Vixen's P.O.V.*

After Glaceir's threat to eat them all, what's left of the enemy crew starts to panic and tries to sail off. Bartholomew, Saprks, and I go back to our own ship. 

*Switch to Saprks' P.O.V.*

After the enemy was out of sight I notice Glaceir's eye turn back to Azeala. He seems to orient to something before looking around. "W-What happened...." he asks in a soft yet shaky voice.

"You.... you don't remember?" Bartholomew asks and Glaceir shakes his head. Vixen, with the tone of a worried mother, says "You ate someone, like, bones and everything." Everyone looks at each other with worried expressions as we try to figure out what is going on. "I don't know if it means anything or not but just before Glaceir lost it his eye changed colors..." I point out.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Saprks says something about Glaceir's eye changing colors before he attacked and it made me think. Then it hits me. "Multiple Personality Disorder!" I was a bit loud when saying it and it causes the others to cringe. 

"What?" Glaceir asks. "Multiple Personality Disorder! A mental disorder in which one person has more than one personality that can control their mind and body. For you the shift of personality must be represented by a change in eye color." I say, rather matter of factly. Everyone, again, looks at each other then back at me. I try to explain it a little better but no one seems to grasp the simple terms.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

After Bo explains MPD and how it works we start to clean up the mess on the deck, well, Bartholomew, Vixen, and Saprks do. Bo leads me to the bath to help me get cleaned up since I was still rather shaken over previous events. It takes thirty minutes to clean away all the blood on me, two hours to get it off the deck. 

Sitting on my bed I apologize to the Shiversnake for making a mess. Beside my bed a lamp is on and a couple of books are stacked nearby for me to read since I most definitely won't be sleeping tonight. I look to the wall by the door where Bo has put up a chart with the names 'Glaceir' and 'Ruka' on it. Ruka is the name of the cannibalistic personality that we discovered today. I wish and pray that she never gets control again. Shaking my head to clear the bad thoughts I look at Bo, who is asleep on his sleeping mat. 

I crawl out of bed and walk over to him, dragging a blanket and a pillow (the ones I received from Vennesa in the East Blue) and laid down beside him. My blanket is just big enough to cover us both. Turning my back towards him I feel my eyelid get heavy, and despite my previous predictions, I did fall asleep.


	28. Shakey Feeling Among All

*Bo's P.O.V.*

My eye flutters open sunlight filters through the window of Glaceir's room. It takes a moment for me to adjust to the light and when I finally do I realize that Glaceir is no longer in his bed. I look around and when I don't see him I go to get up, seeing as he probably went to get something to eat. 

I'm stopped by a hand grabbing at me. After a moment Glaceir pokes his head out from under his blanket and mumbles "No go...." while still asleep. I sit still for a moment, stunned and wondering when he got there. After a minute Glaceir gets slightly impatient and wraps his arm around me to get me to lie back down, and I don't resist. 

My ears twitch as I listen to the rest of the crew wake. The 'thunk' of their footsteps as they head towards the kitchen echo softly within the walls of the ship, causing Glaceir to stir.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I wake up to the sound of my crew shuffling around on the deck. After stretching for a good minute and a half I sit up, mumbling about the things that run through my head. Bo yawns a response to my mumblings and we both get up. Bo opens my door for me and we walk past the many storage boxes (presumably empty) and over to the latch that leads up onto the deck. I struggle crawling out so Bo gives me a boost. After closing the hatch we head towards the kitchen.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

For the second (or is it third) time in a row my captain and his first mate shuffle out of captain's quarters together. I'm beginning to think there's something going on between the two of them but I ain't to sure. Vixen walks past me over to them and informs the Captain of an approaching storm.

*Switch to Vixen's P.O.V.*

After telling Glaceir about the impending weather he asks what the closest island is. "That would be the winter island of Drum." Without even a moment of hesitation he declares that it'd be best to just brave the storm. I ask him why and he waddles of towards the crows nest. I look at Bo and he shrugs before following Glaceir.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I follow Glaceir up into the crows nest, determined to get the answer he didn't give Vixen about not wanting to go to Drum. When I finally get to the top I find Glaceir curled up on a cushion, just staring out the window and into the distance, which is a tell tale sign of his anxiety. So I stay silent, and we sit there for maybe three minutes before Bartholomew calls Glaceir down, saying it was something very important.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

After hearing Bartholomew call I make way towards the deck, rather hesitantly I might add. When I approach him all he does is pass me a hand held telescope and points. I look through the telescope in the direction he pointed to, not really caring until I see what it is and I go still. No less than twenty minutes away is a Marine ship.

The telescope clatters as it hits the floor, steeling all attention towards me. My eyes widen and I make a dash for the crows nest, all while my crew watches in confusion. 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Not long after Glaceir went down he was right back up. He had nearly leapt onto me as he buries his face into my side. He whimpers and I ask him whats wrong. He points out towards the sea and mumbles "Marines...." and I immediately understand what's going on. Making a blanket and pillow out plasma I lay him down. "I'll be back in a moment, ok." I slip my down to the deck and pull Bartholomew aside. I tell about how Marines make Glaceir extremely anxious and he nods, as he's truly the only one to understand how Glaceir's feeling. I go back to Glaceir and he curls up to me as we 'hide' from the marines.

When the ship finally pulls beside us the Marines demand to see the Captain. I could feel the Glaceir tremor, at least until Bartholomew stepped up and claimed himself as Captain. The Marines obviously recognized Bartholomew and they laid off us pretty easily, telling us to have a good day and leaving. And that's just kinda how things were until the storm hit.

Bartholomew, Glaceir and I steady the Shiversnake and the waves start to toss her about. It's raining rather heavily so the deck is slick, and the other two trip often. We do this all night.


	29. The Hell Are You?

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

It's been three weeks since the storm. I've eaten nothing, but that's kinda normal, and I don't feel very hungry. Currently I am on watch as the rest of the crew is sleeping since it is probably midnight. I'm keeping an eye out for the island that our maps say is nearby. Bartholomew is awake too, steering the ship. The Den Den Mushi at my side rings. "Puru puru puru, puru puru puru click" I answer with a hello. 

"You okay? You freaked out earlier and it's got everybody worried..." Bartholomew says on the other side of the line. I mumble out a "I'm fine now, sorry for worrying y'all..." Bartholomew sighs and tells me that it's alright. 

"Wanna tell me what freaked ya out?" He asks. I hesitate, but eventually answer with "Marines.... don't like 'em..." I hear a soft "Oooooh, right..." through the Mushi as it snaps in his head what I mean. He keeps talking to, telling me little things about just about a few Marine friends of his that were very nice people and I talk to him about what the clouds look like from up is the crows nest. Our conversation goes on like this for the rest of the night.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I wake up the in the morning as light pools through the windows without curtains. After a good thirty second stretch I start to get ready for the day, changing out of my pajamas and getting something to eat for breakfast. I search for the Captain and after a brief conversation with Bartholomew I make my way up into the crows nest where I find Glaceir tucked into the corner. He looks kinda cute, all curled up and sleeping peacefully.

I blush. Did I just think of the Captain as cute? I shake my head and make a small blanket out of plasma and drape it over him, as well as making some curtains to stop light from entering the small room from the windows the wrap through the entire room. I proceed to make my way down to the deck, stopping off to tell Bartholomew that I was gonna go scout the area for ships or the island. He nods and I take a leap of the figurehead, morphing into a Thunderbird just before I hit the water.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

I watch as Bo soars off and pray to whatever great being that exists that Glaceir doesn't wake up before he get back, because if he does there will be a shit-show. And let me tell you, no one particularly wants to deal with an anxious Glaceir. I can still hear quiet snores through the Mushi so I know he's out like a light.

Vixen wakes up and walks over. Before she can say anything I put my finger to my mouth and make a shhhh noise before pointing to the Mushi. Her ears flick and twitch as she tries to pick up the noise. After a moment she smiles and nods before heading to the kitchen. I could see from the helm that Bo had put up something to keep the light out of the crows nest to keep Glaceir sleeping longer.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I spot the island we're looking for shortly after I take off. Swooping around I get back to the Shiversnake and land as silently as a feather landing on a blade of grass. Morphing back into my Mink form I walk over to Bartholomew and draw a chart of where I had gone when I found the island. He nods and we set course towards the island.

*Switch to ????? P.O.V.*

I sit on the sandy shores of a deserted island, slowly cooking some fish I got from a river not to far inland from where I am now. A large shadow passes over head so I look up to see if I can tell what it came from. 

"What.... the..... hell...." The thing that had flown over me was a Thunderbird. I thought Thunderbird's were myths, but there it was, as small as a large dingy and covered in radiant feathers. From the stories I've heard that one must be a baby because typically they are said to be large enough to pick apart ships the size of the Moby Dick. 

I wonder where it's going. Home? To catch food? To terrorize random ships? Who knows. I brush off the encounter and go back to paying attention to the food I'm cooking.

Oh fuck. That's a ship, that's a pirates ship. I panic. When the hell did that ship get here? I toss my stuff into some bushes and hide while the ship anchors by the shore. Looking out from my hiding spot I can barely pick up on what they're saying. 

"You sure this the island you saw when you were scouting?" Asks a man with obnoxious bright pink hair. "Of course I'm sure! I flew around the island twice just to be sure." Responds the other, some sort of cat Mink or whatever.

I pull back and leaned against a tree. What does the Mink mean by flew? Was he the Thunderbird? I peek out again only to find the pink haired man standing above the bush and staring at me. After a moment he looks back to the other and says "Then who the hell is this?"


	30. Sacrifice For A Stranger

*Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

The man I had pointed out to Bo seems to freeze in fear when he realizes he's been found out. After what feels like a half a minute he goes for a knife he has latched to his belt. As soon as the knife is drawn I grab the blade, coating my hand in arnament haki so I don't get cut. The man's eyes widen and I then realize he's got Heterochromia, not that it matters. 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I giggle at the fear shown by the man about Bartholomew's demonstration of both haki and the fact that he does not give a shit about threats. The man looks at me and in a shaky and terrified voice asks me if I was the Thunderbird he saw earlier and I nod and morph my arm into the shape of my wing. If possible he looks even more terrified. My ear twitches and I look to the deck to see Glaceir leaning over the railing, blanket still wrapped around him. 

*Switch to ????? P.O.V.*

I small child waddles to the railing of the pirates ship and the Thunderbird guy calls out "Captain!" 

How is that kid a pirate? And a captain nonetheless? What the hell is going on? 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Bartholomew starts to walk over to the ship but I put my arm out to stop him. He gives me a confused glance and, in a soft spoken voice, say "His eye changed again, it's baby blue now..." Bartholomew freezes and looks up to whoever was controlling Glaceir's body.

*Switch to Glaceir's[?] P.O.V.*

"Whas wong guys? Did I do something wong?" I say when BoBo and MewMew dibn't come to say hi. BoBo tabes a tep fowad and says "No no no, you haven't done anything wrong. But would you mind telling us your name, I hit my head earlier and I can't seem to remember very well."

I get a sad look. "BoBo no rememer me. I Indigo..." I twy to hide my dispointent but end up teawing up.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Glace- I mean Indigo looks as if he's about to start crying and in a moment of panic I morphed my arms into wings and fly up to him and envelop him in a hug. This is when I realize that besides the shift of eye color he's also a little smaller and his hair is both poofier and a brighter shade of blue. Indigo grasps onto my shirt and hides his face in my chest. His stomach grumbles and the man, previously terrified, immediately stands up and grab whatever he was cooking earlier and, while holding it tightly, kicks down with enough force to send him flying through the air.

*Switch to ????? P.O.V.*

I land on the deck of the ship and walk over to the Thunderbird and the boy and offer the boy something to eat. He seems hesitant about taking it so I introduce myself. "Hello there kid, my name is Elias and I'm a chef." The kid responds with "I am Imbigo, capian of da Sakuwa Piwates." before taking a small piece of food. He nibbles on the food and smiles. "It Num Num!" He says nibbling on some more food. I stand up and turn around and find myself staring the pink haired man in the eye, and he really doesn't look very pleased that I boarded the ship without permission.

*Switch to Glaceir's [and Indigo's] P.O.V.*

As soon I finised eabing I feel my mind stawt to swip. I get dibby. An awtewnet pewsonawity tabes conpol.

I pull back into consciousness and stand up and out of Bo's grasp. "Bartholomew, let him alone." Bartholomew, upon realizing I was back to 'normal' again grumbles some incoherent curses while walking away. I walk to the man who called himself Elias and give a slight bow, thanking him for the food. He nods.

Crawhirrrr! A cannon ball comes flying right towards me at just the right angle to knock me ofd the ship.

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

Time seems to slow as the cannon ball sails forward. For whatever reason my legs act on their own and before I know it I'm pushing the kid out of the way. I flinch and close my eyes as the cannon ball makes contact with my arm just above the elbow, ripping it (and the other) off. My mind goes dark from shock.


	31. Guilt And Gain

*Bo’s P.O.V.*

Glaceir and I watch over Elias. Glaceir appears to be unable to tear his gaze away from the bandaged stumps where arms once were, his face betraying the guilt he’s trying to hide. I reach over and rub his back a little, trying to comfort him but he just whimpers quietly. Elias lets out a groan and I jump.

*Switch to Elias’ P.O.V.*

My eyelids feel heavy as I begin regaining consciousness. I open my eyes and the first person I see is Thunderbird. He asks how I feel. Grumbling, I say “Like I was hit by a cannon...” He chuckles and says at least I’ve still got my humor. I look around and catch the Captain kid sitting in the corner, but for whatever reason he refuses to make eye contact.

I go to stretch my arms and Thunderbird pauses whatever he’s doing and goes still. It confuses me at first, until I realize that there’s not as much pressure on my shoulders as usual. I panic and shove my arms out in front of me, except my arms are gone, and I remember what happened earlier.

I look over at Captain boy and he finally meets my gaze, the guilt plastered on his face. He begins to apologize and I shrug telling him that it’s really not a problem because at least he’s okay. He frowns before saying “But cannon balls can’t hurt me if I know they’re coming, and I did, the sacrifice you made is pointless...” in the softest and most guilt ridden voice I’ve ever heard come a kid.

*Switch to Glaceir’s P.O.V.*

I feel as if I’m on the brink of tears after telling Elias the truth of the situation. He sits stalled, but shrugs again and says “Eh. All I did was what I thought right in the situation, whether it ended up being pointless or not I would’ve never forgiven myself if I hadn’t tried.” 

“But earlier you said you’re a chef! Don’t you need hands and arms to cook?” Elias just shrugs again.

“I learned to cook using my hands, what’s to say I can’t learn to cook again with whatever I have left, with some assistance from others that is.” 

*Switch to Elias’ P.O.V.*

Glaceir seems to consider my words for a moment before his gaze hits the floor, then back to me. He asks what my stance on pirates is. “Depends on the pirates. If the pirates are more pacifistic than unreasonably violent then I couldn’t care less about them. But if the pirates idea of a good time is killing innocent people for fun then they’re scum who deserve to perish.”

Glaceir gets nervous and asks what I think about those who react to unnecessary violence with more violence. My response is “If they make an attempt on your life and you take theirs in defense then I don’t see a problem with violence.” Glaceir seems to look slightly relieved.

*Switch to Glaceir’s P.O.V.*

“How would you like to join the Sakura Pirates?” I ask Elias. He smiles and says sure. Bo chuckles and welcomes him, saying “All we know at the moment is chaos and secrecy, so best be prepared for whatever shit comes our way.” Elias breaks out in a laughing fit and says he’ll try his best.

A couple hours later, after Elias has been given the basic go over of Glaceir’s ship rules and regulations Bo helps to introduce him to everyone else.

*Switch to Elias’ P.O.V.*

Thunderbird takes me to the kitchen and what appears to the rest of the crew is sitting at the dinner table. I recognize Pink Hair from earlier and he recognizes me, evident by his glare. Thunderbird introduces him as Bartholomew, but I think Imma just call him Pinky for now. Next is Miss Mosaic and Foxy, or as Thunderbird called them, Saprks and Vixen. Vixen said I could call her Vix or Vixie if I wanted to. “Tis a pleasure to meet y’all. My name is Elias and Imma try to be this ship’s chef!”


	32. Coming To Winter

*Bo's P.O.V.*

Over the past week we've gotten closer and closer to the winter island. Vixen made Saprks special clothes to keep her warm since she's cold-blooded. I've noticed that Glaceir is getting sluggish as the weather gets colder, though I brush it off as him adjusting to the cold cause he told me he grew up in a relatively warm climate. I did give him a check up, just to be sure that he wasn't catching a cold. He seems fine, so I am not all that worried.

As we near the island Glaceir starts to sway a little from his standing spot by the kitchen. Bartholomew asks him if he's okay, but before he can answer his eye rolls back and he collapses.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

It's fuzzy, but I can hear my crew rush over to me as I lie on the deck, having collapsed for no apparent reason. I can feel my body start to slow and fail, yet I cannot move. Bo yells at someone for something and my consciousness slips...

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

"Glaceir!" As soon as he hits the ground I am by his side, trying to figure out what happened and why. He doesn't respond to light. His heartbeat slows, as does his breathing. He doesn't react to pressure. An idea dawns on me. "BARTHOLOMEW, GET HIM INSIDE!"

Glaceir is brought inside the kitchen and set on a padded seat next to the corner so he doesn't fall off. I ask Vixen to make him a special blanket using the same fabric she used for Saprks. She nods and gets to work, sitting beside Glaceir as she is worried about her little brother. Elias walks over and tries to ask if there was anything he could do to help but Bartholomew snarls at him, accusing him of poisoning the food Glaceir has been eating the past couple of days, and Elias denies doing such a thing. As the two argue Glaceir winces and whimpers softly, probably displeased that his crew is fighting amongst themselves. 

I stand up, a rather angry expression on my face. The two continue to bicker. Elias sees me and goes still, silently trying to judge my next move before resuming to bicker. Bartholomew, on the other hand, doesn't stop, or seem to notice that Elias has stopped for even a moment . A bit of plasma melts off each of my shoulders and onto my fingers. I fling this plasma at them, covering their mouths. I walk over to the both of them, building my height until I tower over the both of them, and I melt down my arms and cocoon the majority of their bodies in plasma as if holding them with an iron grip.

"You two are acting like children and need to stop. I've watched over and helped with every meal prep and can promise that there was nothing done to it. I know you don't like having Elias here but you need to shut your goddamn mouth and just except the fact that Glaceir chose him as our chef. Your captain has just collapsed on deck and you should be worrying about him and if he's going to be okay, not trying to find ways to pin the blame on Elias. Your bickering has upset him, and in his current state it will wound his mental and emotional state, adding to the damage already done. You would think the two of you would be mature enough to figure that out on your own but it seems you have to be scolded by a child for it to click. Now if you wish to continue to argue you can do it outside, otherwise I will not hesitate to cause harm to the things you hold dear."

Each word is spoken softy, but backed with a deep, sharp snarl. Looking from one to the other I can feel the fear radiating off of them. I release them from their plasma cocoons and remove the plasma from their mouths. Bartholomew stands in silence and I look to Elias. "If you would please make some soup and hot cocoa that would be great. When he wakes up he'll need something warm." Elias nods and goes over to the stove, Saprks in pursuit to assist him when needed. Returning to my normal height I sit by Glaceir opposite of Vixen, who was staring at me with a stunned expression. 

After a few moments of said staring she goes back to working on the blanket. The next few minutes are spent in silence, save for Vixen making fabric from green colored flubbles and Elias whispering some directions to Saprks. I monitor Glaceir's vitals.

Vixen finishes the blanket and hands it to me. I ask her to help hold Glaceir up so I can wrap him up and she nods, reaching over and leaning Glaceir away from the back of the seat. After a bit of shuffling around Glaceir is completely covered.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

Terrifying. That's the first word that comes to mind when Bo snaps. In a matter of seconds he stands over Elias and I, towering about four feet above our heads. He traps us in a plasma cocoon, plastering our mouths with it as well. With his lips pulled back like a vicious, wild animal he lectures us quietly on our behavior, though his anger is betrayed by deep, threatening snarls. After staring the both of us down for what felt like an eternity he released us. My body refuses to move and my mind begins to process the truth Bo had spoken. 

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

After releasing us from our cocoons Thunderbird asks me to prepare some soup and cocoa for Captain boy. Too shaken to speak I nod and walk over to the stove. Miss Mosaic follows after and helps me get a pot of boiling water started. I thank the heavenly beings for my flexibility as I open the freezer door, though it takes a little bit longer than usual because I lack arms. Browsing through what we have I choose a fresh chicken and ask Miss Mosaic to grab it. She nods and asks what I plan on using it for. "Chicken noodle soup. It's simple and will probably be done as he wakes up." I explain, using my feet to grab at a bag of vegetables, which are placed in the counter. Miss Mosaic opens a drawer and brings out a knife and cutting board. While she chops the chicken and veggies I get started on cocoa.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Over the course of the next ten minutes I watch over Glaceir, paying attention to each and every little change. As the blanket begins to warm him up his vitals seem to start returning to normal, confirming some earlier suspicions.  
I jump when he coughs and begin to look him over. His eye opens and he looks around. At that same moment Elias and Saprks set a bowl of soup and a glass of cocoa. Glaceir tries to wiggle his arms out of the blanket. "Glaceir don't, you need to rest." I say softly while picking up a spoon and scooping up some soup. I bring the spoon to his face. Everyone gets up and goes to other rooms. Vixen and Saprks to the Library, Bartholomew up to his room, and Elias goes to take a shower.

After I finish feeding Glaceir he asks me what was wrong with him. "From what I can tell, you're body slipped into hibernation mode." I explain. This confuses him. "I assume that, like Saprks, you are cold blooded or at least something similar. From what I observed your body seems unable to regulate heat on its own, which means if you get to cold you just... stop functioning."

"Oh." He says, nodding slightly. He yawns and asks me if I'd carry him to his room. I nod and pick him up, making the plasma of my chest radiate enough heat to ensure he won't freeze before we reach Captain's Quarters. As soon as I get there I lay him on his bed, unfurling the blanket from around him so he can get comfortable. 

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

After Bo unwraps the blanket I wiggle until I'm comfortable then take the chance to drag him into the bed beside me. He gets a flustered look as I cling to his side. "You're warm..." I mumble as I drift into sleep. The last thing I feel is Bo covering us both with the blanket and ruffling my hair to tell me to rest well.


	33. Land Ahoy! And Two Soft Angry Basturds

*Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

After Glaceir went to sleep, which was around noon yesterday, I've been thinking of ways to maybe prevent him from collapsing again. I knew a little bit about what happened thanks to Saprks, who had checked on them around dinner time. We are getting ready to dock at the winter island and there's no doubt that Glaceir will want to go explore, but I really don't wanna risk him collapsing alone...

Just as thought had entered my mind I see Bo and Glaceir walk to the exit point on the deck out of the corner of my eye. Using Micros, the smallest of my smithing hammers weighing only ten tons, as a path block I grumble out "Sorry Captain, but I'm not letting you leave the ship. I don't want to chance you collapsing when nobody is around to help you." 

Bo gives a stern glare, Glaceir shrugs and says "That's fair enough." before leaning against Bo and complaining about feeling unusually nauseous. Bo picks Glaceir up and carries him back to Captain's Quarters.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Glaceir says that he feels nauseous and that makes me worried so I pick him up and carry him back to his bed. After getting him tucked in with the special blankets, being the flubble fabric blanket from Vixen and the one he received from a girl in the East Blue, I pull his desk chair over by his bed and sit down.

"Can you think of any reasons to why you're nauseous?" I ask, trying to access whether or not he's going to need medicine.

"I.... I think I've been eating too much..." he says, rather sheepishly.

That was not really an answer I was expecting. "What do you mean by that?" As far as I knew he was eating the normal amount for a human, if not less.

"Well, ya see, over the years my body has developed and been conditioned into not needing to eat for days or weeks at a time, usually because food was taken from me or I just wasn't given any. Lately I've been eating two solid meals a day and it's throwing me off..." he admits.

"Why don't you just tell Elias that you don't want to eat then?" I question, knowing full well that the reason is gonna be sensible.

He looks away and mumbles "It's rude to turn down something when it's offered to you, and it'd be pretty shitty of me to waste the food he worked hard on making, especially since it's my fault he has to relearn how to do a lot of things..."

It strikes me then that Glaceir still blames himself for the incident that caused Elias to lose his arms. I place a gentle hand on his but don't say a thing to him about it, instead I offer up a solution to his eating conundrum. "Why don't you just tell him not to make you anything unless you ask, that way it'll be easier on both of you."

Glaceir thinks about my suggestion for a moment before looking back to me and asking if I would do it for him. I smile and tell him I will when I go up there next. He mumbles out a thanks, yawning halfway through the word. I stand up, telling him I'll be right back before rushing out to the deck.

I open the kitchen door to find Elias looking at some old recipes. "Hey Elias, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Elias turns to face me. "Really? What about?"

"Glaceir's been eating far too much for his body to handle and it's beginning to make him sick. We decided it would be best if you didn't make him anything unless he asks." I replay Glaceir's words in my mind.

"Eating too much? He barely eats two meals a day." Elias says, slightly confused.

I nod. "As a kid he lived in a place where food was hard to come by and when he did have some it was often taken. This lead to his body being conditioned into only need to eat every once in a while."

Elias frowns. "Why didn't he tell me sooner?"

"He didn't exactly want to hurt your feelings by wasting the food you prepare for him, and I think it's also partially because he still feels responsible for you losing your arms..."

Elias' eyes widen a moment before he looks back at the recipes.

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

I'm surprised to hear that Captain boy still blames himself for what happened to me. I look down at my recipes, then to my stubs, then back to Thunderbird . "Can you go get Pinky, I need to ask him something."

Thunderbird seems surprised that I'm asking after the only crew member that absolutely despises me but nods and goes to get him anyway. As the door to the kitchen closes I hop up onto a bar stool and wait.

"What do you want Seaweed Rat?" Pinky grumbles as he walks in. Ignoring the rude nickname I hold up/out my stubs.

"I know you hate me with every ounce of your being but would you be willing to make me prosthetics?" He takes one angrily confused look at me.

"Why? I thought you didn't care and wanted to learn how to use your nasty feet." He sneers.

I frown. "It's not for me dipshit, it's for the captain. He still feels responsible for the accident that left me armless and has been forcing himself to eat as not to waste my work and in turn its made him sick. If he sees that I can function using prosthetic arms it might help to lessen his guilt." My tone is rather stern as I grumble/growl at him.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

I can feel my angered expression soften as Elias growls his reasons at me, and by the end I pretty much just have a worried expression. I stand up and look Elias in the eye before saying ,in a very soft tone, "I'll see what I can do..." and making my way to the smithing workroom.

After closing the door behind me and lighting a lamp I sit down and start to sketch out blueprints for the prosthetics, also thinking about what materials would be best used. My first thoughts are to use lighter metals but whether or not that works is based on Elias' fight style, something I've failed to ask about. I figure I can just ask when I get his opinion on the blueprints.

It takes two hours to complete the sketch. Exiting the workroom I walk to the kitchen. I open the door and take a seat at the counter before calling Elias, who had been looking at recipes as he was earlier, over to look at the design.

"That looks good. Any idea what your gonna make them out of?" He asks after I give a basic rundown on how it would function.

I shake my head. "That's something else I needed to ask you about. What's your fighting style, if you have one that is?"

Elias chuckles. "Of course I have one, I traveled alone on the seas for ten years and got myself into a shitload of trouble." I chortle and he sighs softly. "My fighting style holds strongly to kickboxing mostly, but was not limited to it. I infused a series of handsprings, rolls, and spins into my attacks."

I nod and write it down, tucking my pencil behind my ear as I stand up to go back to the workroom. Elias had already gone back to whatever he was doing so I left.

Back in the workroom I tack the blueprint to by project wall and start looking through my assortment of metals for something strong but light. I searched for four minutes but couldn't find any that worked, which means I'll have to forge a new substance. Grabbing a thin sheet of steel and a chunk of jade I set them aside as I start the smelter going. As usual it takes forever. 

When it gets to the right temperature I lay the steel sheet in the smelter and add in a small amount of the jade. After the two combine I scoop out a shot glass' worth and pour it into a marble mold. When it cools I remove it from the mold and run a series of tests. This repeats until I get just the right mixture of the two.

Leaving the substance in the smelter I get to making molds for each panel, bolt type, and articulation joint. When the molds are done to perfection I start pouring in the substance.

Because the molds are large it takes all night for them to cool and set properly, and as soon as the first set is done I restart the process to make the parts for the second arm. As I wait for that to set I get to work assembling the first prosthetic at my desk, finally being able to sit and rest my legs.

Elias kicks lightly at the door before coming in, a tray with breakfast balanced perfectly on his head. He crouches down and leans so that the tray slides onto the table. He asks how it's coming along and I show him the half finished prosthetic. He nods and leaves, thanking me for doing this as he struggles to close the door. I pick at the food, too caught up in my work to really eat.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Glaceir has slept since yesterday morning, Elias has done nothing but stare at recipes, Vixen and Saprks have been hanging out in the library, and Bartholomew is nowhere to be found, much demonstrated by the silence echoing on the ship. Currently I am watching the shoreline.

Something moves just outside my peripheral vision and I turn to see Elias carrying a tray of food. I wonder where he's taking it...


	34. With His Own Two Hands

*Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

While most of the crew is out exploring the winter island I stay in my workroom, piecing together the final bits of the prosthetics. They were coming along nicely, which is cause for slight concern, cause I'd rather have it fail here than in the middle of a fight. I sigh, feeling slightly frustrated and set everything down. Stretching, I stand up and my stomach growls. After grumbling about not wanting to leave the workroom I head to the kitchen. When I open the door a singular shining eye lands on the place I stand, causing me to jump out of fear. "Holy shit Bo! You're creepy as hell...." Bo chuckles and apologizes. He tosses me what I assume is a bottle of sake and takes a seat at the counter. Sitting across the counter from him I ask "Why does your eye glow in the dark like that anyway?" He smiles and opens his eye wide. 

"It's because of a special layer in my eye called Tapetum Lucidum. Most animals have it." He takes a sip of his sake. 

"I guess that makes sense..." I say after a few seconds of thought. 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

"So what's got you so busy recently? You haven't left your workroom all day." I ask, setting my sake on the counter.

Bartholomew takes a swig of his sake and sighs. "Elias asked me to make him some prosthetics for him. So far everything is working just fine but that worries me..."

I tilt my head. "How is it worrisome that it works?"

He looks me in the eye and says "If it fails in the workroom I have time to figure out what went wrong and fix it, if it fails on the battlefield it puts Elias in a life or death situation with low probability of making it. So, I'd like have it fail now rather than later."

"Ohhh, I see..." I take a sip of my sake. Picturing the scenario he put forth helps me to realize my ignorance of all the possibilities. "If it stresses you out so much why don't you ask Glaceir for help when he wakes up, seeing as he's best at thinking about most, if not all, possible scenarios, good and bad." 

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

And with that Bo gets up and leaves, presumably to go back to Glaceir. I linger in the kitchen for a few moments longer before finally getting off of the chair and taking my leave, bringing what's left of the sake with me. I sit at my desk, contemplating Bo's suggestion. It does make sense, Glaceir's specialty is critical analyzation and quick thinking. He would be able to point out what will and will not work in ways I may be unable to notice or understand. I look at the prosthetic, or at least what I have done, and sigh. At this rate I might not want to finish it...

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I wake at what I assume is one in the morning and sit up and rub my eye. I glance around, mapping the room in my mind. There's two bottles of sake on the nightstand, one open the other not. I see Bo curled up in the corner and assume the open one is his. Taking the unopened bottle I go in search of Bartholomew, who is probably taking night watch. When I don't find him in the crows nest I check his workroom. There I find him, toiling over his current project. 

I knock on the door to let him know I'm here before walking over to him. He looks at me and huffs. "Hey Cap'n. What you doing up so late?"

"I should be asking you that question." I chuckle. "And I just woke up so..."

Bartholomew snorts. "Think ya might be able to help me with something? It's kinda important..." I nod and pull up a seat next to him. He motions to some blueprints and a work in progress prosthetic. "I need to figure out all things that can go wrong so we can avoid those situations. I've tried most things I can think of but I'm still worried it's gonna fail out on the battlefield..."

Nodding I look the prosthetic up and down and run my fingers down the metal. "Have you tested how resilient it is to pressure, heat, cold, and other materials and substances?" Bartholomew shrugs and I sigh. "You need to pressure test so you can figure out the limits of the metal, cause too much pressure will lead to shattering or bending. Heat and cold tests will allow to know what islands will have negative effects on its ability to function. It's best to know how hot it gets before the metal melts together and how cold it gets before locking up or shattering so you can make modifications for said circumstances. Another thing is to test its reaction to substances like water, soil, and acid."

Bartholomew nods as I go over the basics. Pulling my old Claws out of my pocket I lay them on the desk. "If you look at these properly you'll notice that they are well crafted, almost to the point of being indestructible. I made these two years ago, in a cave, with what little knowledge I had on craftsmanship." 

Bartholomew looks at the claws with a slight expression of amazement before looking back at me and asking "So whats the best way to test them?"

I glance at his smithing hammers, then the forge, then back to him. "For pressure testing I suggest trying to crush it with every thing you've got, weights, your hammers, or just plain jumping on them." He nods, writing the suggestion down. "To do the temperature test I suggest asking for Bo's assistance. As a plasma being he can burn hotter than your forge and freeze colder than the snows of the worst winter island." As Bartholomew continues to write down my suggestions I bring up the last one. "When it comes to substance testing it'll be easier to do on a warmer island for most things now is the best time to test snow, hail, and maybe ice for their effects."

Bartholomew looks at me as something clicks in his head. "I'm gonna hafta make more of the jadesteel, aren't I?" One short confirmation later and he looks ready to weep.

"I can help if you'd like." He considers my offer and nods quite rapidly. He gives me the proportions for how mush steel and jade to use and we both get to work.

The rest of the crew comes back around two or three days later. During that time Bo, Bartholomew, and I have been working our asses off trying to identify and fix all issues and anomalies within the prosthetics. Bartholomew and Bo test and when we had finally narrowed down everything and worked around the problems I wired them. Bartholomew seems pleased with our work. Bo and I yawn, far more tired than Bartholomew, who hasn't slept in four days or something and is still full of energy. Bo and I head off to bed shortly before the rest of the crew arrive.

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

Miss Mosaic, Foxy, and I board the Shiversnake after exploring and doing business with the locals for the past three days. I head to the kitchen to prepare something warm to eat for everyone. The girls take a seat at the table as I start up a pot to boil water. After a few moments of idle chatter Pinky walks into the kitchen and crudely tosses a bag onto the counter, which makes the sound of metal hitting metal when it lands. The girls give him a shocked look.

"Here they are Seaweed Rat, two custom made prosthetics." Pinky opens the bag and reveals two, jade metallic green, prosthetic arms. "These things are strong enough to take up to five hits from Gigas." 

"Who's Gigas?" I ask and he gives a rather cocky smile.

"Gigas is the name of my two largest smithing hammers, weighing a hundred tons each." My eyes widen and I look back at the prosthetics.

"Really?" He nods and picks one up.

"Let me see ya arm so I can attach 'em." Hesitantly I walk over and hold a stump as far out as it goes. 

"This might hurt a bit..." he says as he fits the prosthetic onto my stump. At first I wonder why he would say something like that then it hits. Pain jolts from my stump as the wires connect with nerves. After a few seconds its over. I look down at the prosthetic, which stayed in place without any apparent help.

"Try moving your fingers." I nod and concentrate a little, and the fingers moved ever so effortlessly, fluidly, like they were regular human fingers.

I look back to Pinky. "How?"

He chuckles. "Glaceir and Bo worked had to make sure the movement was optimized."

I feel slightly confused. "Captain boy and Thunderbird helped?"

Pinky nods. "Glaceir helped to go over every scenario possible and made sure we ran every test imaginable to figure out its limits. Bo helped forge the materials. I built them, and when that was done Glaceir wired them."

*Switch to Vixen's P.O.V.*

Saprks and I watch as Bartholomew and Elias go back and forth about the prosthetic arms that Bartholomew had made. A few minutes of conversation after the first one was attached Bartholomew helps Elias attach the other one. After that Bartholomew left. Didn't need to question where he was going because the footsteps on the floor above the kitchen made it pretty obvious he was going to bed.

Elias seems completely enthralled by his new arms, almost so much so that he forgot that the stove was on. One reminder from Saprks and he snaps out of his trance and starts to cooking up something I think is gonna be real tasty. After all, he did just get back something very important, and with that his skills have probably come back too.


	35. Kicking Ass

*Elias' P.O.V.*

Things are seemingly peaceful as we traveled the Grand Line. Thunderbird is giving Captain boy a checkup. Pinky is tinkering away with something in his workroom. Miss Mosaic is reading in the library. Foxy is doing whatever it is navigators do. I am cleaning up a spill on the floor because a wave unbalanced the ship and knocked a soup bowl off the counter.

The ship's warning siren wails and I freeze. I drop everything and run out onto the deck. Captain boy was staring through a hand-held telescope for whatever caused the warning to go off.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

There it is. A ship. Through the telescope I see them loading a cannon as they take aim at us again. Tossing the scope aside I sprint to the sail ropes, trying to avoid getting a hole in it. The crew follows my lead and starts prepping both themselves and the ship for the oncoming attack. As the other ship approaches I abandon whatever it is I'm doing and run over to and jump up onto the railing. After my foot stance steadies I draw my sword from my belt loop.

"Swirling Sword Cyclone!" I make an upwards slashing movement as I spin the blade with my thumb. For a few seconds nothing happens and I can feel my crew grow concerned. Or are they embarrassed? Doesn't matter, because the water splits in a spinning motion towards the other ship. The attack strikes their deck and drags off a few of the opponents crew.

A bullet whizzes towards me and I backflip off the railing. Bo runs out and front of me and yells "Plasmal Shift! Porti-Cannon!" He knocks his fists together as his arms morph into a small cannon. Bo takes his aim and fires a multicolored flaming ball of plasma, straight through the hull of the enemy ship. Or at least, that's what I thought. I watch as Bo's plasma ball misses and sinks into the water.

"Batter's up!" Bartholomew calls out as he swings his smithing hammer full force at another incoming cannonball, causing it to explode on impact. 

From behind me there is fast approaching footsteps and I look up in just enough time to watch Saprks transform into a giant dragon. Gliding over to the other ship she hovers behind the sail and uses the wind from her wings to propel the ship closer. I silently thank her as she's making this fight so much easier for the close range battlers.

It doesn't take too long until Elias is launching himself off our ship and onto the other, his newly made prosthetics almost rattling to match his excitement. Elias starts to fight with his all and I have to say its rather impressive.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

As everyone starts pulling their weight and going on the attack Glaceir just stands there and watches. He seems captivated at first, by his crew's bolt into action, but soon he begins to look disoriented and scared . My guard drops and an opponent takes advantage of it and tries to slice me in half. I let out the nastiest snarl and glare the man down. His face shifts from that of confidential to one of absolute terror as his sword melts when it comes in contact with my skin. He begins to tremble before turning to the others and shouting out "W-W-Watch out! They got a logia!" 

"There's worse than that you son of coral eating octopus!" Vixen calls out, a smirk on her lips as she shifts into her half beast form. "You've also got two zoans on your hands!" Saprks lets out a reverberative bellow, already having taken her beast form. Elias jumps back over to the Shiversnake and gives a hearty chuckle.

The man who had attacked me at first has already withdrawn from my attack range. I look back to Glaceir. He was looking more disoriented than before and panic spikes in my mind. I run over to him and grab him by his shoulders, shaking him to try to snap him out of it. He looks me in the eye and mumbles incoherently. 

Realizing that shaking him wasn't going to help I take him by the hand I try to lead him out of the battlefield. He doesn't move, actually pushing me away before saying "Don't get mad..." before I can ask why he takes off through the crowd, taking every blow that comes his way.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

I recognize the cross-armed pose Glaceir makes when he launches off the Shiversnake and towards the other captain. Panic surges through me and my hands tighten around Median's handle. 

"GLACEIR NO!" I call out too late as he does one of the worst moves pulled off using the Kounta Kounta No Mi, Full Reject. I close my eye as he makes contact with the other captain and finishes off the move.

*Everyone's P.O.V.*

There's a bright flash of light followed by a loud boom. We look to where the light and sound originated from. There's a large hole in the side of the other ship, but also lots of blood.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

My ears are ringing. The smell of copper linger strong in the air. My animal instincts are starting to take control, but I hold them off. I remember Glaceir saying something about not being mad, and then him running off to attack the enemy...

"Bo.... Bo.... BO! Snap out of it!" Bartholomew says as he shakes me back into reality.

"W-what happened? Where's Glaceir?" I ask and Bartholomew looks towards the partially destroyed ship floating a few feet from the Shiversnake.

"He attacked the captain using one of his ultimate moves. You need to go find him now, before he bleeds out, or worse, drowns..." Bartholomew's words shake me to my very core. 

"He.... what? How? He's...." 

"He's hurt. And every second you stall here is one second he is closer to death. Now go! I'll explain things later."

Bartholomew's shouts cause proper panic and I morph into thunderbird form and fly over the sea, searching every wave and chunk of debris for the small man. I see him, barely below the surface and swoop down, plucking him out of the sea. I set him gently on the deck of the Shiversnake and morph back into my normal form.

My doctor brain kicks in and I immediately begin to remove his shirt to check for injuries. I freeze in terror. All the scars on his torso have reopened and he was bleeding profusely. Vixen crouches opposite to me and whispers worriedly. I ask her to give me some space and she glares at me. "How about going to the med bay for the emergency med kit? Will you do that for me?" She nods and hurries off.

A minute later she sets the kit by my side and I open it. I pull out needles and string and begin to stitch close the very large gash in Glaceir's skin. Vixen continues to hover. "Vixie, honey, you're hovering is making it harder to concentrate."

"But... I want to help. He's my baby brother after all...." she whimpers.

I heave out a sigh and a tapered end of a bandage forms on my shoulder. "If you want to help tug on that. The more you pull, the more that will be made. I'll tell you when there's enough and you can wrap him up." She nods and starts pulling at the tapered bandage.


	36. What The Hell?

*Bo's P.O.V.*

It's been two days since Glaceir pulled that stunt during the fight. Bartholomew explains it as Glaceir using the amount of energy from the hits he took and turning into explosive pressure within his bloodstream, causing his veins and arteries to implode throughout his entire torso. I shudder at the thought of it happening to me. I look to Glaceir, who is currently sleeping on one if the med bay beds, nearly dead.

I do his hourly check up to make sure that he's not dying. After I'm done with the procedure I take a minute to just.... look. He seems so peaceful. I reach over a gently move his hair from his face. His features are soft, yet also animalistic. His left eye socket, the one left empty after a fight, unnerves me slightly as it has no eyelid so it lingers open. His hands clench to the blanket and for a brief moment I think he might wake, but I realize I've got my hopes up too high.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

I watch Over Bo and Glaceir through the entrance of the med bay. Bo seems to get hopes up when Glaceir momentarily grabs at the blanket, but I see it dissipate quickly. I knock on the inside part of the doorway. "Mind if I come in?"

Bo was surprised at first that he didn't notice me sooner. Regardless of that he nods and I walk in. He glances at me before asking "How long was he out the last time this happened?" His voice was soft and filled with worry.

"Almost a month."

"A month? That long?" 

"Yeah, he wasn't in peak condition then so it's not really a good time to use to estimate how long it'll take for him to get better..."

Bo's expression goes from bad to worse as he takes in the few tidbits of information. He looks me dead in the eye. "Before he uses Full Reject he told me not to be mad at him. Any idea what that might be about?"

"The marine in charge of his training punished him for using it because it put him out of commission for a month after he finally woke up. Of course the man was found out and handled accordingly but I can see now that the incident has left Glaceir with some permanent mental trauma...."

Bo nods and stands up. He walks over to his desk and pulls out a small notebook and a pencil.

"What's that for?" I ask.

"Hm? Oh, I use it to record snippets of important information about everyone." He responds, shuffling to a clean page and jotting down whatever it was he thought needed to be written. 

"Oh, I see." I don't question it further. "Well, I'm gonna go back up now. Is there anything you want that I can get for ya?"

"Uh, I guess I am kinda hungry. If you could ask Elias to make me some eggs or something that would be nice..." Bo seems to get quieter as he speaks.

"Ok." I mumble softly as I leave the room. For the first time since I met him Bo seems like a kid, but one that is grieving, and it pains me almost physically to see him like that.

I walk into the kitchen looking for Elias, only to find that Seaweed Rat isn't there. Baffled I check the bedroom, only he isn't there either. The last place I check is the mouth of the figurehead, and low and behold that's where he is.

"Oi, Seaweed Rat."

"Hm? Whadaya want Pinky?"

"First of all, don't call me Pinky. Second of all, Bo wants some eggs."

Elias nods and crawls out of the figurehead. He heads towards the kitchen and and I follow close behind. 

"If not Pinky what else can I call you?" He says turning to look at me.

"How about, ya know, my real name, Bartholomew."

He chuckles. "Naw. What's your last name?"

"Jammersway, why?"

"No reason. Just wanted to know. I could call you Baja."

"Baja is better than Pinky. And since you brought up the topic, what's your last name?"

Elias turns his back to me as he turns on the stove and grabs a couple large eggs from the fridge. "Don't got one."

"What do mean you don't got one? Everyone has one."

"Well, I guess I'm different cause I never got one. And beforw you tell me to just ask my parents I don't know them or where they are."

I huff. "Why don't just make up a last name?"

Elias freezes for a second. "Lark."

"What?"

"If it means that much to you my 'last name' will be Lark."

I snicker. "Elias Lark. That actually has a nice ring to it."

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

I can hear the amusement in Baja's voice as he says my chosen name out loud. "Elias Lark. That actually has a nice ring to it."

"Thanks." I say, smile on my face.

After a few moments of silence Bartholomew just asks "Wait, if you don't know your parents where'd the name Elias come from?"

Sighing I mutter out "Named myself."

"Oh. That's why you have such a stupid name."

"Oi! Elias isn't a stupid name! Bartholomew on the other hand..."

"What's wrong with the name Bartholomew?"

"Well it's a noble sounding name, and to be fair, nobles are absolutely the worst."

Bartholomew goes to say something, realizes I have a point, and grumbles out "That's fair..."

I chuckle at the defeated tone in his voice. He lets out a defensive huff and grumbles about whatever. Shortly after the eggs are finished and I bring them down to Bo. I stop when I get to the doorway, as soon as I peeked in all I saw was Bo whimpering as his head is laid on the bed. I knock on the wall and he turns to look at me.

"Here ya go Thunderbird. I didn't know how you liked your eggs so they're just scrambled, is that ok?"

He nods as I set the eggs in front of him. I can see the sadness in his eye as he nibbles on the eggs. I hesitate as I leave the room and look back at him. I sigh and head back to the deck. 

I go back to the kitchen and find Bartholomew still sitting at the counter. "Ya hungry?"

He grunts. "So.... bacon?"

He grunts again. Sighing I turn to him and cross my arms. He smiles a little and I raise a brow. "And whats so funny to you Baja?"

"Nothing. I just find it hilarious that I absolutely despise you and you know it you do nothing about it."

"And why should I try. You suck, and your a terrible human being."

He frowns. "I'm not terrible..."

I chuckle. Uncrossing my arms I ask again if he wants something to eat.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

"I guess I could go for some fruit or a salad even."

Elias nods and gets to work. I dig some paper out of one pocket and a pencil out of the other and begin to just... sketch.


	37. 1/2 chapter: Day By Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is written journal entry style from Bo’s perspective

Day 1: Glaceir's wounds are horrendous. Each and every inch of the scar covering his torso have been torn open due to his attack. Despite major blood loss his vitals remain stable after treatment procedures are started.

Day 2: Today Glaceir's vitals spiked as we started a blood transfusion. Bartholomew says this used to be a common occurrence when Glaceir was being held captive and had to get shots.

Day 3: Glaceir shifted to his side while still unconscious. I think he might have done it to limit the amount of pressure put on the worst scar areas, being his back and chest.

Day 4: I learn from Bartholomew that the last time this happened it took Glaceir a month to wake up. He also said that Glaceir was incredibly ill and malnourished at the time so it can't be used to accurately predict how long it will take now.

Day 5: Glaceir started seizing during his morning checkup. It took a minute and a half to stabilize him. Later that day he started coughing up blood.

Day 6: Nothing of significance happened today, which is both relieving and worrisome.

Day 7: Glaceir started coughing up blood again. This time he choked on it so I've made the decision to have be laying with his head dangling over a bucket while he is propped up so that the blood doesn't block his airways.

Day 8: It's time to replace Glaceir's bandages. After carefully removing all the old ones I gently clean the areas around his stitches with disinfectant. After putting on the fresh bandages Glaceir mumbled incoherently.

Day 9: Using blood that I gathered when first stitching Glaceir up I run a couple blood tests. He tested negative for diseases and illnesses, which means that there's one less roadblock of recovery to worry about.

Day 10: Vixen stepped in to watch over Glaceir so I could take a break and rest. I would have said no but Glaceir was doing ok at the moment so I took a quick shower then napped.

Day 11: Still no signs that Glaceir is getting any better. Most of his wounds haven't even begun to start healing.

Day 12: I changed Glaceir's bandages again today, this time applying the same medicine I used on his eye.

Day 13: Glaceir's condition got worse. Despite being in calm waters a large wave hit the ship and it jostled one of the wounds open. This led to severe bleeding.

Day 14: Vixen came back to help again, this time to make medicine. I give Glaceir a basic checkup to make sure he wasn't getting sick.

Day 15: Glaceir started writhing in place, presumably because of the tremendous amount of pain he was feeling. Knowing that normal medicine wasn't going to help I carefully gave him a small drink of sake, which seemed to do the trick and calm him down.

Day 16: Today was repeat of yesterday.

Day 17: Yet another routine checkup. Glaceir's vitals are stable, but something feels wrong...

Day 18: Glaceir opened his eye! It didn't last long, less that four seconds, but I was able to catch a glimpse of black. Not sure what it means.

Day 19: Glaceir's heart stopped for three minutes. This put everyone into a state of panic. Currently I am trying to figure out the reason why his heart stopped.

Day 20: It keeps getting worse. Glaceir has a temperature of 109.2 and is becoming shaky.

Day 21: Glaceir's breathing has been compromised and he has been hooked up to a special machine that'll keep oxygen flowing into his lungs. His fever did drop to 103.7 which hopefully means he's getting better.

Day 22: I change Glaceir's bandages. From what I can tell the healing process has started.

Day 23: The fever is gone, for now. Glaceir is still very shaky. The tensions on board have worsened.

Day 24: Glaceir was searching for something, or at least trying to, by skimming his hands slowly across the bed. I tried to get him stop moving so he wouldn't accidentally open a wound. He wouldn't so I asked Vixen to go grab something for him to hold onto. She comes back with a small plush tiger.

Day 25: The fever has returned and Glaceir's vitals are all over the place.

Day 26: Glaceir's heart stopped again, though only for twenty seconds this time. 

Day 27: I determined that the reason Glaceir's heart keeps stopping is lack of essential nutrients. Vixen helps me hook Glaceir up to a couple IV drips which will provide said nutrients.

Day 28: Glaceir's fever is slowly declining.

Day 29: The fever has escalated again.

Day 30: Glaceir started breathing on his own again.

Day 31: Vixen helps me change Glaceir's bandages. In a couple places infections were starting to form. I get them cleaned up.

Day 32: I check the infected spots again. Most of them are gone but one remains on his upper left shoulder.

Day 33: The infection got worse. I try using a special poultice on the area. 

Day 34: It didn't help. The infection is spreading faster than any other I've seen.

Day 35: After trying everything else I resort to cutting out the infected skin and muscle, leaving a decent sized divet in his shoulder.

Day 36: All traces of the infection are gone. The medicine and bandages are reapplied. Everything seems to be going well.

Day 37: Nothing happens.

Day 38: Glaceir starts coughing, nothing to bad but still, it's worrisome.

Day 39: Glaceir's cough continues throughout the day. 

Day 40: Adding to the coughing, Glaceir has started twitching whenever there's a loud noise.

Day 41: Glaceir started seizing. Not knowing if his body could tolerate it I injected some stroke medicine into his blood stream.

Day 42: Bad idea! Bad idea! The stroke medication had the opposite effect. His seizing has gotten worse.

Day 43: Glaceir has to be propped over a bucked as he starts puking. His temperature has gone up to 110.1 so I have started watching him carefully.

Day 44: Glaceir is no longer puking but his fever hasn't gone away. I redo his bandages.

Day 45: Glaceir is fine, despite his high temperature. I use this time to try to create medicines that won't make him terribly ill.

Day 46: I checked the progress of the scar's healing. Its a quarter of the way there.

Day 47: Glaceir's temperature drops back to normal.

Day 48: Glaceir seems to just be resting now.

Day 49: Glaceir's breathing becomes compromised again and he has to be hooked back up to the machine.

Day 50: It's been almost two months. Everyone is beginning to fear for the worst.

Day 51: Glaceir's vitals seem normal all except for his blood sugar, which is terrifyingly low. I add another IV drip to bring those numbers back to stable.

Day 52: Some of my crewmates are beginning to ask how much longer it'll take. I am starting to worry that someone might leave.

Day 53: Bartholomew confides to me that the stress is finally starting to get to him. Glaceir shifts awkwardly and pulls out one of the IVs.

Day 54: I manage to get Glaceir's mouth open long enough to get him to drink first some sake, then some water.

Day 55: I've added a sip of sake into Glaceir's care plan as it visibly helps lessen the pain he feels.

Day 56: We are attacked. The crew is able to keep most of the enemies on deck but a few made down into the med bay. A bullet made of seastone ends up lodged in Glaceir's knee.

Day 57: The surgery to remove the seastone bullet was successful. After a quick patching up and sanitation I let the wound start healing on its own.

Day 58: Glaceir rolls over on the bed and dislodges his breathing tube. However, he seems to be doing fine without it so we let it be.

Day 59: Using some damp rags I gently wash the areas around his wounds.

Day 60: Glaceir has become more active in a physical sense. He is still very much unconscious.

Day 61: Glaceir's vitals stabilize.

Day 62: I had to up the dosage of sake as I realized that the pain was getting harder for him to bear.

Day 63: During his checkup Glaceir started flinching whenever he was touched.

Day 64: Glaceir has begun to groan whenever he is uncomfortable or in pain, a good sign that he might soon regain consciousness.

Day 65: All of yesterday's progress is lost when a cannon is fired at the ship. Even though the cannon ball only hit the railing it had enough force to rock the ship, rolling Glaceir off of the bed. He hit his head on the floor and the leg of my desk.

Day 66: I redo Glaceir's bandages. Glaceir has been put on concussion watch after what happened yesterday.

Day 67: Glaceir rolled over and ended up face in the pillow. This nearly led to suffocation.

Day 68: It's a particularly hot day, even more so in the small med bay. Vixen makes Glaceir a cooling blanket to make sure he doesn't get heat stroke.

Day 69: Tension starts to lift as Glaceir shows signs of progress.

Day 70: When changing Glaceir's bandages today I noticed that the wounds needed to air out. I put off applying new bandages.

Day 71: Glaceir starts have short, barely noticeable muscle spasms, nothing dangerous.

Day 72: Glaceir has begun groaning when uncomfortable or in pain again. 

Day 73: After a quick checkup the wound are confirmed to be halfway healed.

Day 74: Vixen asks if she can coddle Glaceir a little. I allow it as long as she doesn't do anything big.

Day 75: Glaceir starts to shift and roll around. I remove all the IVs.

Day 76: The stitches come out today. I'm finally able to bathe Glaceir, but only with warm water and a soft towel as not to reopen the scabs.

Day 77: Glaceir is physical ready to wake up but he hasn't yet. Maybe he needs some mental and/or spiritual healing too.

Day 78: I bring a Den Den Mushi into the med bay and call Glaceir's brothers. After informing them of the situation they spent the next few minutes talking and telling Glaceir about some of their happiest memories with him.

Day 79: A second call from Glaceir's brothers.

Day 80: Today it's a woman on the other end of the line. She tells stories of Glaceir's youngest days.

Day 81: An unknown caller. It's a man. He seems rather jovial. Talks to Glaceir about things only the two of them know.

Day 82: I receive a call from the revolutionaries. It's information about an incoming storm.

Day 83: Thanks to the warning we were able to avoid the storm. Glaceir has gotten more active.

Day 84: Glaceir gets another fever.

Day 85: The healing is beginning to speed up. The wounds are starting to finally scar over.

Day 86: Another call from Glaceir's brothers.

Day 87: Glaceir seems to start to wake up.

Day 88: Glaceir's fever returns to normal.

Day 89: Glaceir is beginning to cling to the closest heat sources.

Day 90: Glaceir wakes up.


	38. Run In With An Old Friend

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

My eyelid still feels heavy. I let out a groan as pain pulses through my entire upper torso. I can hear the sounds of muffled voices. I recognize each voice, it's my crew. My eye flutters open and I get temporarily blinded by the light, followed shortly by the silhouettes of my crew.

"You're awake!" Says Bo rather excitedly.

"How long have I been out?" I sit up, albeit slowly.

"T-three months...." Bo mumbles while looking down.

"Three... months...." before I can say more pain spreads across my entire upper torso and I start coughing. Bo jumps and grabs an unopened sake bottle and uncaps it. With his help I tip the bottle up and drink it till it's empty.

"Isn't it bad for him to be drinking that much sake at such a young age?" Elias asks. Bo shrugs and I smile a bit.

"Compared to my usual bottle this is small. Besides, it's the only thing that works to relieve pain."

"That? Small? How big are your bottles usually?"

Bo points to a bottle sitting on top a shelf and everyone looks up at it. Elias is the first to call bullshit before Bartholomew steps in, saying "Makes sense to me."

The two start bickering and Bo sighs. "Aren't ya gonna stop them?"

"No. Tension has been high while you were unconscious and those two didn't interact whatsoever. The fact that they're bickering means they finally feel confident in your recovery." Bo explains. I smile.

Their argument pauses when my stomach lets out a growl loud enough and to scare the birds flying around outside the ship. Everyone looks at me and I get a bit flustered.

Elias gives a soft smile and walks over, and after crouching by the bed he tilts his head a little. "Hungry Cap'n?" I nod. "Well, whatcha want to eat?"

After a few moments of thought I mumble out "Soup.... Soup sounds nice....." 

"What kind?"

"Doesn't really matter as long as it has noodles..."

"How much?"

"A lot.... please...."

Elias nods and heads off towards the kitchen. Vixen sits at the edge of the bed. "I know you just woke up but I have a question for you..."

"I'm all ears."

"We are the halfway point between two islands. To the east is a Fall Island and to the west is a Summer Island. Where should we go?"

"East."

Vix nods and Saprks runs out to the helm.

"Where's she goin?" I ask, a little bit confused.

"While you were out she taught herself the basics of helmsmanship and being a shipwright. Though she happens to better at the ladder of the two."

"Oh...." 

My voice must have betrayed my disappointment in myself because Vixen starts speaking hurriedly and incoherently. Bartholomew walks over and places a hand on her shoulder. I didn't hear what he said but Vixen gets up and leaves the room, followed shortly by everyone but Bartholomew.

He takes a seat beside me. "I recognize that face from when you started doubting yourself when we first set out. What's wrong?"

"I failed as a Captain. I took a risk that wasn't necessary and I left you guys on your own. I put so much pressure on you all..." I start tearing up.

"Hey, hey, don't cry. You didn't fail, you just tried your best. If anything I failed you."

"What do you mean?"

"I should have picked up on your panic sooner. And as your second in command I nearly lost it when it came to having to actually lead. It's made me realize just how hard watching over us is."

I smile a little. "Yeah, you guys can be little shits."

"Oi!"

I chuckle. "Sorry, but it's true."

Bartholomew sighs. "Yeah, yeah, ok."

We both start laughing and Vixen gives a call from upstairs. "Uh Glaceir, there's someone up here you need to see..."

Bartholomew and I look at each other. He helps me up and props me up as we wobble our way up the stairs. Once on deck Bartholomew leads me over to Vixen. She hands me a telescope and points out over to the horizon. I take a look. 

Approaching us from the distance is a ship, one that I am quite familiar with. I drop the telescope as excitement flows through my mind. Everyone gives me some weird looks.

"Bo, can you bring me a Den Den Mushi?" He nods and brings it to me. I dial in a number and it starts to ring. 

Puru puru puru. Puru puru click. "And who I have the honor to be speaking to?"

"Hello to you too Uncle Akagami."

"Kid! How are you?"

"I'm great. Finally got out to sea."

"That's great to hear, maybe we'll meet one day."

"Yeah, I mean, your ship looks pretty nice from here."

"Wait, you can see the Red Force?"

"Yep! And if you look southeast you'll see my ship too."

I hear scrambling from the other side of the line followed by Yasopp shouting about a ship in the distance. After letting out a hearty laugh Akagami says "That's quite a nice ship ya got there. Reminds me of your dad's ship."

"That's cause it is. He gave it to me when we met a couple months ago."

"Why don't we meet up on the island you're traveling to so you can tell me all about your adventures?"

"Sure! We're headed towards the fall island east of my current location."

"Got it kid, seeya there."

Akagami hangs up and I do a little happy dance. My crew looks at me like I just went batshit insane. Vixen asks me how I knew Akagami Shanks, and also how I was able to speak with him so casually.

"Huh, that? Oh it's simple! I've known Akagami since I was a kid. Him and I are good friends."

Vixen sighs. I give the biggest shit eating grin possible and giggle. Bartholomew walks over to the wheel from Saprks, who takes a couple steps back and changes into her half beast form and with help from Vixen's Wind Hex they propel us forward.


	39. Catching Up With Old Pals

*Vixen's P.O.V.*

I can't fucking believe it. Glaceir knows Red Hair Shanks and is friends with him no less. While I was questioning everything I had thought about my baby brother Bo and Bartholomew were laughing their asses off.

"What's so funny you two?" I ask, still using my Wind Hex to speed up the ship's sailing pace.

"Well, y'all were surprised to find out that he knows Shanks." Bo responds.

"And what's so funny about that?"

"Not only did Glaceir meet Whitebeard but he challenged the first commander to a fight... and won."

My jaw drops. "He knows TWO emperors?!"

Bartholomew nods. "Not only knows, but has their respect. Though he only met Whitebeard recently he's known Shanks since he was three."

"How the hell did he meet Shanks when he was three?!"

"Shanks helped Bazil break Glaceir out of a Marine science prison and was the one responsible for delivering him safely to the island of Bazil's choice."

I drop silent, taking a second to glance at Glaceir, who is currently sitting on the figurehead. I look back to Bartholomew. "How do you know tha-"

Bartholomew flashes and old scar on his hip of the Marine Seagull. "This is how, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." I shuffle my feet semi-embarrassed.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

Vix's face flushes with embarrassment at her forgetting my past occupation. Her and Saprks had stopped their endeavors earlier as we were nearing the island. Releasing the wheel into Saprks' care I walk over where the anchor rests on deck. At Glaceir's command I heft the anchor up over the railing.

From here I can see Akagami already sitting on the island with his crew. Glaceir jumps off the figurehead and immediately runs over to Akagami with Bo and I in tow. When we get within twenty feet of where the Red Hair Pirates sit Akagami releases a wave of Conquerers Haki. Glaceir and I persist through it with no problems but Bo.... Bo blacks out.

Glaceir realizes as soon as it happens and changes his direction just in time to stop Bo from face planting on a sharp rock. I stop as well and turn back to see if he's okay. 

Glaceir tightens his grasp on Bo and pulls him close while giving Akagami the most horrifying snarl I've heard come from someone of Glaceir's size. I start to feel slightly woozy myself and that's when I really notice that Glaceir is using his own Conqueres Haki to challenge Akagami's, which is weird because as far as I'd know Glaceir would never attack someone he sees as a friend. Looking back at Bo I see that he has a nosebleed and it clicks. Bo was bleeding, and while it was accidental it was still Akagami's fault and Glaceir is not having any of that shit.

Akagami realizes it to and shows a worried, maybe even scared, expression. "Hey, kid, I didn't-"

Glaceir cuts him off with a growl. His eye flickers from Azeala to Blood Red, from Blood Red to Black, and from Black back to Azeala. I remember that Blood Red means the cannibalistic Ruka, but Black was new. I take a firm hold on Glaceir's shoulder and whisper "Captain, calm down. Bo is fine..."

Glaceir tightens his grip again but relaxes his posture, pulling Bo further into his lap. I sit just behind him on the left. Vixen walks over and mumbles something along the lines of "Vix Vex Undo Hex" and no less than a second later Gigas drops onto the ground behind me. Reaching back I bring it to my side.

Vixen takes a seat on a stump behind where Glaceir sits. "You better have a good explanation as to why you'd use that Haki on my baby brother." She crosses her arms and with that I notice that she has taken to her half beast form.

Akagami gives a nervous nod. "I wanted to test how far he's come since I last saw him." 

Vixen raises a brow, rather unconvinced as Glaceir puts all his attention on Bo. Everyone stays silent. 

I sigh and decide to introduce everyone. "My name is Bartholomew, I'm Glaceir's second in command. The boy you knocked out is Bo, Glaceir's first mate and closest friend on the Shiversnake." Akagami visibly winces when he hears how close Bo and Glaceir are. "The overprotective older sister is Vixon, she happens to be our navigator. Yet to arrive are the Chef, Elias, and the Helmsman, Saprks."

As their names are said Elias and Saprks take their place behind Glaceir, obviously winded. Their expressions change from excited to worried upon seeing Bo. Elias stares Akagami down and I can almost feel the murderous intent radiate off of him, and I maybe smirked.

The smirk disappears when my attention shifts back to Glaceir. He looks so distant, it's worrying.

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

I continue to stare at whoever the hell the Red Hair guy is. He seems uncomfortable, and rightfully so.

"S-so... what can you guys tell me about your journey?"

Captain Boy looks away from Thunderbird briefly and says "I was alone up until I entered the Grand Line." 

Baja nods. "There hasn't been much adventure, especially since Glaceir is trying his hardest to stay under the radar. Not to mention he had been in a coma for three months before half an hour ago so we tried to avoid any and all enemy interaction."

The man who had been leaning against a tree off to the side walks over to Captain Boy and sits beside him. The man reaches into a pocket and pulls out a couple small viles of what appears to be rum or whiskey. Captain Boy grabs them and looks at the man. After taking a second to think he tucks the viles into his pocket and shuffles Thunderbird from his lap into Baja's. He then turns to the man and does the arms in the air, grabby hands thing babies do when they want to be picked up. The man sighs and picks up Captain Boy up.

"Looks like I'm still his favorite, right kid?" The man says, a smirk on his face.

Captain Boy nods and Red Hair makes a sad expression. "Benny still my favorite..."

The man, who Captain Boy refers to as Benny, looks at Red Hair and says "To be fair you did just make his closest friend pass out."

Red Hair grumbles out an "I know..." before sighing. 

Captain Boy yawns and curls into his friend's stomach before falling asleep. 

Baja laughs quietly. "Sometimes it's hard to believe that this kid fought Whitebeard's first commander and made it out having only lost his eye."

Red Hair perks up a bit. "He fought Marco?"

Thunderbird nods, finally waking and sitting up. "He broke both of Marco's legs, one of his arms, his nose, and a couple of ribs."

Baja smiles. "When I finally got there Marco was still using crutches."

Red Hair looks at Captain Boy, then Thunderbird. "How did he manage to beat the healing flame of the phoenix?"

"Absolute Cancel, one of his devil fruit abilities. Absolute Cancel allows Glaceir to temporarily eliminates devil fruit users access to their abilities." Thunderbird says, reciting it as if he had been reading it from a book.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

I look around for Glaceir and see him curled up and sleeping in someone elses lap. "What even happened?"

Bartholomew pokes my shoulder. "Akagami used his Conquerers Haki and you passed out. Made Glaceir angrier than I've ever seen, he even used his own Haki. Might need to keep an eye on him for someone new, cause today his eye flashed Black."

I frown. "He shouldn't be straining himself that much, he just woke up..." I space out for a second then snap my head to look at him. "You said they flashed Black? Are you sure?"

Bartholomew nods and we get some weird looks from Akagami and his crew. "Is something going on that we should know about?"

"Recently I diagnosed Glaceir with MPD, Multiple Personality Disorder. So far we've got records of Azeala; Glaceir, Baby Blue; Indigo, and Blood Red; Ruka. Though I guess Black will have to be added to the list when we figure out its name..."

"What are these personalities like?"

"Well, you know Azeala pretty well. Baby Blue is kind, gullible, and naive. Blood Red is violent, irrational, and cannibalistic."

The faces of each of the Red Hair pirates shift to scared and uncomfortable. I tap the ground. 

"If there's anything else you want to know you'll have to wait for Glaceir to wake up..."


	40. Small Kid Spars

*Bo's P.O.V.*

There was silence between us and Red Hair's group for five minutes before Glaceir woke up. After taking a moment to look around Glaceir crawls away from the man named Benn(if I heard correctly) and over to me, latching onto my side as he sends a glare at Red Hair. 

"You okay kid?" Red Hair asks. Glaceir chirps at him. Red Hair sighs. "Wanna spar?"

At that Glaceir perks from an angry gremlin to an excited child. "Yeah! Yeah!" He looks at me. "Can you go get Orbichigo?"

I nod and he lets go of me. Walking a good distance away I morph into a large bobcat and make my way to the Shiversnake.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I chuckle when Bo morphs cause his big cat form reminds me of the giant tigers from Dawn Island. I look at Akagami, who seems pretty shocked, maybe confused. Bo returns quickly and drops Orbichigo into my hands, morphing back into his Mink form as he sits beside me. 

I run my fingers across the blade and it shifts. Placing my thumb by the sharp edge I push hard on the blade, causing it to spin until I stop it by touching the jadescale orb. I glance at Akagami and smile.

————————————————————————  
I don't really have the energy to write the sparring scene so....  
Timeskip.  
————————————————————————  
*Bartholemew's P.O.V.*

Watching Glaceir and Akagami spar was.... interesting, to the least. While Akagami is a seasoned swordsman he seemed to have a hard time countering the spinning blade. After their little spar was over Glaceir waddled back over to Bo and drops into his lap, the Orbichigo slipping from his hand and into the ground, going right through Bo's leg. At first Glaceir panics but upon remembering Bo is a logia user he calms down, all while Bo chuckles and pulls the sword out of his leg.

Akagami seems amused as well. "So kid, how was your adventure up until now?"

"Well, I made a couple friends while still in the East Blue, but they stayed there. I was alone up until I finally crossed over Reverse Mountain, that's when I met Bo." Glaceir smiles as he leans further into Bo's hold.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Glaceir leans against me as he talks. "After Bo joined me we ran into Whitebeard and I settled an old score with one of the commanders." Akagami gets a bit of a worried look as Glaceir traces the scar that goes down the left side of his face. "I lost my eye but I left that commander in need of crutches." Glaceir chuckles. "After that some Marines showed up and long story short, Bartholomew joined the crew as my Vice Captain. Bartholomew took us to the island my father lives on and we recruited my sister Vixen, who is our navigator, and Saprks, who recently trained herself to be our helmsman. The latest recruit is Elias, and he's our chef." 

He speaks about each of us with pride and it makes us all smile. I think Red Hair can see how proud Glaceir is because he's got a dorky smile.

"And how's Anchor?"

"You mean Lu? He's doing ok. Him and Spades are out exploring and mugging people."

"He's mugging people? And who is Spades?"

"Yes, he's mugging people, and Spades is our brother!"

Red Hair and Glaceir chuckle as they chatter on about a couple of kids from the island Glaceir started his journey from. Everyone has split off to talk to others among Red Hair's crew. 

Vixen on the other hand still seems rather mystified. Benn looks at her. "And what's got you in a tizzy?"

"Hm? Oh nothing really, I'm just trying to comprehend those two and how they know each other."

Benn chuckles. "Well, I'm assuming Bartholomew told you earlier when they met. And if you're this confused as to why they're so close I'm assuming you haven't seen his tattoos."

Each of us look to Glaceir for a moment before looking back to Benn. Vixen has a scary expression. "His what?"

"His tattoos." Benn looks over at Glaceir and Red Hair. "Hey kid! Have you not shown them your tattoos?"

"Uhh, I guess not..." Glaceir pulls up the bottom of his shirt to flash tattoos of two Jolly Rodgers. "This one I got when I was four, I think, and it's Akagami's Jolly Rodger." He then points to one that's been cut off by the large scar that covers his torso. "My parents gave me this one. It's the Jolly Rodger of the man that saved them just before I had been born."

Vixen shuffles over to get a closer look and her face pales. "T-that's the Jolly Rodger of Gol D. Rodger!" 

Glaceir nods. "I know. I met him once.... I think." He thinks for a second. "I did! It was just before the the prison break and the Marines had taken me out to test my training. Of course I didn't do anything because at that point I understood the concept of death and knew I didn't like it." Both Glaceir and Bartholomew look slightly upset for a second. "Anyway, the ship they brought me to was Rodger's! That when I met him and Rayleigh and whoever else was on the crew at that point." He lets his shirt drop back down as he goes back to talking to Red Hair.

Vixen lets out an anxiety fueled sigh and lays down under a tree. Bartholomew chuckles and Elias continues to stare at Glaceir in slight terror. I giggle at Elias. A pebble hits the side of my head and I look to where it came from. 

It was Glaceir. He makes the grabby hands at me and I crawl over to him. As soon as I'm there he smiles and chirps as he leans against me. Red Hair gets a mischievous smile and I give him a confused head tilt. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing" Red Hair says with a chuckle. "He just seems very comfortable around you. Even more so than when he was around us."


	41. Goodbyes And Newcomers

*Bo's P.O.V.*

After Glaceir and Red Hair got all caught up we went our separate ways, Glaceir waving goodbye until the Red Force was no longer visible over the horizon. Afterwards he pesters Elias for something to eat.

Eventually Elias caves in and makes him some sandwiches. Content with his snacks Glaceir sits by the stairs on deck and starts to eat. Bartholomew sits near the tops of the steps and stares out over the waves. Everyone goes off and does their own thing. I'm busy thinking about what Red Hair said earlier.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I nibble on the sandwiches I got from Elias. I glance at Bo who is laying against the base of the figurehead. He seems lost and thought and doesn't see me beckoning him over. Slightly disappointed I go back to eating. That's when the water around the ship starts to ripple.

Bo gets shaken from his thoughts and both him and Bartholomew rush to the side of the ship to see what's going on. Bo jumps back in surprise when a large webbed hand grabs the railing. 

Up from the blue depths crawls a fishman. It flops on the deck of the Shiversnake as a pool of blood starts to form by its head. Setting down my sandwiches I jump up and run over to the fishman.

"Can you hear me?" I ask, trying to find the source of the blood.

"K-kinda? Where am I?" The fishman tries to stand up but Bo pushes him back down.

"You're on the Shiversnake. Mind telling me what happened?" Bo asks. 

"I got tangled up in some fishing nets and whosever net it was wasn't very happy about it." The fishman says.

"Well, you're eye is damaged pretty badly and there's a gash on your cheek. I will be able to treat it if you want." Bo says, scooting back to give the fishman some space.

"Sure. Does anyone see the tusks?" 

"What tusks?"

"So they're not with me. I always carry two six-foot long walrus tusks with me. Can someone find them for me?"

"I've got it!" Bartholomew calls, tossing his coat and hat off before diving into the water.

Bo runs over and drops the anchor before returning to where the fishman was beginning to try to prop himself up. "I've got to go grab a med kit but I'll be right back ok?"

The fishman nods and Bo runs off. I shuffle over and lean over the fishman. "Hi, my name is Glaceir. What's yours?"

"Armagedon." 

"It's nice to meet you Armagedon. You're on the Shiversnake right now. Is there somewhere you were going that we can drop you off at?"

"Glaceir? You're the kid that the marines are looking for. Aren't you a pirate? Why would you want to help me?"

"I am a pirate. And I am choosing to help you because it would weigh on my mind and my soul if I didn't." I huff, slightly disgruntled.

"Oh you're one of that kind of pirates." Armagedon says, with an almost condescending tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I start with a defensive tone.

"Nothing bad, it just means you're a pacifist."

"Oh. Like Uncle Aka." 

"Who?"

"Doesn't matter!" I say rolling back as Bo comes back with his med kit. Bo gives me a confused glance as I get up and run up to the figurehead. Bartholomew crawls back on deck with the two tusks Armagedon told us about and sets them down beside him.

"So Armagedon, where are ya going?" I ask, spinning of the figurehead to face him.

"Nowhere in particular, as long as I can get to a blacksmith it's fine."

Bartholomew smirks. "I'm a blacksmith."

"Really? Can I commission something from ya? I got money." Armagedon reaches into his bandanna and tosses out a coin sack.

"Sure, but I don't need your money. Just tell me what you want."

"Y'all are weird. Anyway, I need swords and I want them made out of the tusks." Armagedon says, pointing at the tusks.

"I can do that." He picks up the tusks. "Just the tusks or should I add any other elements?" Armagedon shakes his head and Bartholomew gets up and starts off towards his workroom. "They should be done in a few days, so have fun with them."


	42. New Friend

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

The entire time Armagedon has been on board he's just been sitting on the deck, occasionally holding conversations with Elias and Bo, but he won't say much to me. While this does upset me I understand and just leave the guy alone. Feeling restless I decide to go see my if Bartholomew needs any help. 

When I get to Bartholomew's workroom I see him tinkering with the tusk-blades and getting them into the right shape. I knock on the door frame and he turns to look at me, setting his tools down to shift in his seat.

"Oh hey Cap'n. Whatcha doing here?"

"Got bored. Can I help?" I sit myself down on an empty table.

"Now now Cap'n, it's only been a few day since you got out of that coma you were in. Forging can be really dangerous, specially with the atrophied state of your muscles." He says shifting back to face his project. "Why don't you go do some training or something, I need to get these finished."

I frown slightly before leaving the workroom. I then decide to go see if there's anything I can do to help Bo.

"Hey Bo!" I say cheerfully as I stand at the entrance of the med bay.

"Hi Glaceir. Is something wrong? Bandages loose, aching joints or muscles?"

"No, just wanted to know if there's anything I can help you with?" 

Bo gives me a sympathetic glance. "Sorry Glaceir, but what I'm working on right now is Revolutionary work. I don't need any help at the moment."

A second turn down. The frown returns to my face as I turn to leave. Walking back up to the deck I decide to check the kitchen to see if there's anything I can do for Elias. 

"Hey Elias." I don't sound as cheerful as I did earlier but that doesn't really bother me.

"Hey Captain Boy! You hungry?" He inquires, looking up from his recipe book.

"No, not really. I wanted to know if there's any chores or such that I can help out with."

"Ah, you're a bit late on that front. I just finished the dishes."

"Oh.... ok...." I turn to leave. Everyone I ask gives me different versions of the same response, and everytime I feel slightly worse. Even the girls, who did need help, got said help from each other, which is good I guess because it means they trust each other.

Feeling super down I crawl my way into the mouth of the Shiversnake's figurehead and into the darkest corner. Along the way I pass Armagedon who visibly flinches as I walk by, which is understandable but still...

As I sit there I begin to cry a little, feeling utterly useless. I keep my cries quiet, though everyone is probably to busy to notice. I don't move from this spot for a long time.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

After finishing up todays Revo work I get up to try to find Glaceir. First I stop by the workroom to see if Glaceir is hanging out there. When I realize he's not there Bartholomew tells me that Glaceir had stopped in this morning and had asked if he could help.

"Of course I told him no though. He's in no physical condition to working, at least not here that is."

I frown. "If he's not here then where else could he be?"

"Go talk to Seaweed Rat, he probably knows something."

Nodding I head up towards deck. When I get to the kitchen Elias is working on lunch. "Hey Elias, do you know where Glaceir is?" 

Elias shakes his head. "No, sorry. He came in earlier asking if I had any spare chores that he could do. Unfortunately I didn't have any for him to do and that's when he left."

"Oh, thanks anyway." I exit the kitchen and search the ship. When I find the girls they tell me they don't know where he is either. I begin to panic.

Running back to the front deck I check the communal bedrooms, the garden, and his sleeping quarters, only for him to come up missing. Running up I check the crows nest.

"Not here either..." 

As soon as my feet hit the deck I let out the loudest snarl/grow/roar I can muster. Within seconds everyone is gathered around me.

"Bo what's wrong?" Bartholomew asks, clearly not happy to be dragged from his project.

"He's gone, Glaceir's gone. I've searched the entire ship and I can't find him."

Vixen's face pales. "What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean he's missing."

Everyone looks at each other then back to me. Elias is the first to speak up. 

"You don't think he fell overboard do you?"

"We would have heard him scream or something if he fell." Bartholomew says, nudging him in the side.

"Don't argue now or I swear to Poseidon that I will through you overboard." They both go silent and look down. "Some of you can get to certain places better than I can't so let's split up and search."

Everyone nods and splits into groups, occasionally calling out Glaceir's name as we search.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

I hear my crew calling my name as I wake up from a nap, cause apparently I had fallen asleep while crying. I push myself further against the back wall as their footsteps thunder by. I hear someone stand on top of the figurehead for a moment before jumping off.

*Switch to Armagedon's P.O.V.*

Listening to the humans and the mink run around and yelling is quite annoying, but I also don't know what's going on. As soon as someone runs by I reach out to grab their arm.

"Can you tell me what's going on that would demand this kinda ruckus?" I ask.

"Our Captain has gone missing." I recognize this voice as the mink boy.

"You mean the kid with the small footstep pattern?"

"Yes! Do you know where he is?"

I point at the direction I heard the kid go and the tension in his body dissipates. 

"Thank you, now can you let go? Please?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." I release my grip and can hear him run off.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

After learning from Armagedon that Glaceir had hidden himself away in the figurehead I rush over to the hatch and open it quietly. From inside I can hear him crying and whimpering.

"Glaceir, are you okay in here?"

"I'm fine. Leave me alone." I can hear the slight tone of pain and/or disappointment in his voice.

"Do you really want me to go?"

"Yes. And tell everyone to leave me alone too." He practically snaps.

"Okay, if that's what you really want. I just want you to know that we're all worried about you and when we couldn't find you it scared us. Even Bartholomew got worried." I see him tense up.

"W-wait..." 

"Yes?"

"Don't leave.... I don't wanna be alone..." he looks at me and I can see the tear stains on his cheek.

Giving a small smile I crawl all the way into the figurehead and over next to him, leaving the hatch open beside me, where soon everyone gathers around.

"Wanna tell me what's wrong?" I keep my voice quiet and start to radiate a soft heat.

"Ever since I woke up I've been totally useless. Every time I've tried to help someone today they either told me they were fine or that I am too weak to do anything at the moment." He sniffs a little, leaning into me. "I know that I can't do much right now but I wanted to be included in something."

My mind flashes to this morning to when he had asked me if I needed any help with anything. "Oh Glaceir... I'm so sorry. I-"

"Don't apologize, it's to late for that now." Hearing him snap as he pulls away from me pains me ever so slightly. I notice now that he's crying again.

I hear a shuffling noise at the hatch and we both turn to see what caused it. From this position we both can just barely see Armagedon sitting by the opening. He seems to just be sitting there, but after a moment he speaks up.

"I know this may not be the best time to ask but I'm gonna need some help adjusting to my swords when they're done and I've been told you're the best guy to talk to." He says, pointing vaguely at Glaceir. "Would ya help me?"

"S-sure... Does this means you might consider joining us?" Glaceir asks, as he had once a couple days ago, the angry response having made Glaceir weary.

"I'll think about it." I don't know if Armagedon sees it but the smile that overtakes Glaceir's face is amazing. Armagedon just nods and goes back to where he's been sitting for the past couple days, and as he does everyone else returns to their areas of work.

Glaceir leans into me again. "Can we go to the crows nest?"

I nod and carry him out of the figurehead and up to the crows nest, which is where we spend the rest of the day.


	43. Building Up

*Bo's P.O.V.* 

It was not too long after Glaceir had his meltdown that Bartholomew finished the two tusk-swords. Bartholomew let Armagedon name the blades, and therefore Tuskus and Tuskar are finally fight ready. 

At first Bartholomew wouldn't give Glaceir back his Orbichigo, probably in fear he'd himself, but eventually he gave in when Armagedon butted in.

"Little man said he'd help me adjust to my new blades. I promised that I'd train with him. I don't like to break my promises." He gives Bartholomew a side glance. "Besides, y'all don't want a repeat of earlier events, right?"

With that Bartholomew quite his bickering and handed over the spinning sword. A smile forms on Glaceir's face and he and Armagedon head towards the training area. Vixen does inform us that there's an island nearby and that we'll be stopping there for supplies.

When we land at the island we all decide to go go our separate ways, if only to avoid suspicion from the locals. I, of course, went out to the woods seeing as Minks like me tend to stick out like a sore thumb. Glaceir points out that I can just morph and I shrug.

"Don't really want to, besides, it'd just be a waste of energy." I say, speeding away into the woods. Mostly I just prowl around up in the tree, though soon a curious man scent catches my attention. I track the scent to a cave where I cautiously approach the source. It was a rock. I take the rock.

*Switch to Vixen's P.O.V.*

After Bo had taken of we all come up with an emergency call just incase we need to get out of here fast. After that I head towards the shops to look for tarot cards. Elias heads towards the food vendors, Saprks looks for book vendors, and Bartholomew tries to find more smithing materials. Glaceir and Armagedon hang back at the ship, mostly because we wouldn't let him come along with us cause we're worried about him.

*Switch to Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

I'm looking for some more jade, aluminum, iron, and steel while we're docked at this small island. The most important thing to look for though is the jade because it's not something commonly found in little street shops. I get lucky enough to run into a blacksmith in this little village with a surplus of materials, most of which I am able to buy cheap. 

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

After we all gather back on the ship I approach Bartholomew with the weird rock I found earlier.

"I found a rock on the island with a weird smell and I think it might be an ore, can you tell what it is?" I hold out the rock so he can take a look at it.

Bartholomew takes the rock from my hand and studies it closely. His eye widens.

"Where did you find this?" He asks, glancing up at me.

"In a cave."

Bartholomew sighs. "This is a chunk of a very rare ore called 'Plagsmore'."

"How rare?"

"Rare enough I would kill someone for it." He answers nonchalantly.

"Not me though, right?"

"Of course, you're my friend, I won't hurt my friends. And since you found the ore it's up to you what happens with it." 

"Is it possible to make a weapon with it?" I ask rather hopefully.

"Depends, what kind of weapon are you looking for?" 

"A bisento? Maybe?" I cross my fingers behind my back as Bartholomew stares at me.

"I.... I'll try. No promises it'll be enough for the blade, seeing as I have to proportionate to you." Bartholomew says, seemingly very hesitant.

"If it doesn't work you can use the ore for whatever you want." I reply, a smile on my face. Bartholomew heads towards his workroom and I go to the deck where Glaceir and Armagedon are doing their training.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

There's a scream from kitchen and Bo and I run in to see what's going on. When we get there we see Elias pushed against the wall and pointing to the freezer, the door hanging open.  
At first we're confused but as I walk over I realize what's wrong. Inside the freezer is a very, very small, sleeping kid with deer horns. Reaching in I pick up it up gently and hold it like a baby before walking out of the kitchen and sitting in the shade of the stairs.

By this point the rest of the crew has gathered and is looking quietly at the deer-child that I'm holding. Elias walks out of the kitchen looking semi-horrified and tries to explain what just happened. After hearing that the child was found sleeping comfortably in the freezer Vixen makes a small blanket with a cooling cloth and helps me swaddle the child. Afterwards everyone goes back to their own stuff.

Almost an hour later the kid wakes up and looks around.

"Wheye is I?" He looks at me. "I go seep in nice cod box and now I is here."

"You're on the deck of my ship. You scared my crewmate."

"Oh. My name Hoffen Himer." He says, a blank expression on his face

"Well Hoffen Himer, my name is Glaceir. Do you know where your family is?"

"Whats a famiy?"

I stare in disbelief. "You don't know what family is?"

Hoffen Himer shakes his head. 

"Can I ask why you have horns?"

"I ate a weiwd fwuit and it gabe me aminal powews."

"Oh. I ate a weird fruit too."

"Dib it gib you weiwd aminal powews too?"

"Not animal powers, but it did give me the ability to bounce attacks back at whoever attacks me."

"Oooooo, coow."

I chuckle and Hoffen Himer and I banter back and forth for awhile. Elias comes over with some foods for Hoffen Himer to try. Later Vixen brings over some clothes for him. Bo and I take the kid to my sleeping quarters and Saprks brings in some picture books for me to read to him.


	44. Itsa Babey pt.1

*Glaceir's P.O.V.*

After deciding that Hoffen Himer would be staying in my room with me Bo gave him a checkup as he sits on the bed. During that time I decide to ask him some questions.

"So Hoffen, how exactly did you get onboard my ship?" Hoffen takes a second to think before shrugging.

"I dunno. All I 'member is seein da boat wis a weally big snek head on it. Is dat wheye I is now? On da boat?" He looks to me at tilts his head.

"Yes, you're on the boat. It's my boat and her name is the Shiversnake." I say with a smile.

"Shiveysnek? Da boat's name is Shiveysnek? And its a giwl? How dis dat wowk?" Hoffen asks with the most confused expression.

"Remember the nice lady who brought you the books with all the nice pictures?" I ask.

"Yes, why?" Hoffen shudders as Bo's cold stethoscope touches his back.

"Well, that nice lady is Saprks and she is the ship. Or it's spirit at least." Hoffen's eyes get wide.

"She's da boat's spiwit? Is dat why da boat is a giwl?" I nod and Hoffen goes "Ohhhhhhhhhh."

"I have another question for you Hoffen." He nods.

"Otay. Aso you can call me HoHi if you wants. Los ob peoble do." He says with a smile.

"Alright. I want to know why you were sleeping in the freezer." 

"Oh dats simple. Iss weally wawm on dis island, way to wawm fow a fur coved person wike me. Da cod box was jus weally nice."

I nod, understanding how unbearable heat can be. Bo finishes his checkup and walks over to the dresser where we had put away the clothes that Vix had made for HoHi. Pulling open a drawer he grabs two shirts, a red t-shirt with a cartoonish skull and crossbones and a white tank-top with teal stripes.

"Alright HoHi, which shirt do you want?" Bo sets the two shirts on the bed. HoHi crawls over to them and after staring for ten seconds points to the red t-shirt. Bo pick up the shirt and scrunches it so he can help HoHi put it on.

"Hands up please HoHi." Bo asks. HoHi responds quickly and raises his arms into the air so Bo can pull it over his head. After a brief struggle Bo goes back over to the dresser and pulls out a pair of light blue shorts.

"Dos no gonna fit ova my tail." HoHi says sitting upright.

Bo turns the shorts around to show a small hole in the back. "They will though. These were custom made so that you can wear them even with your tail." 

"Tail fits?" HoHi's eyes widen in amazement. "Will it weally fit?"

Bo nods. "My pants are like that too since I'm a mink." HoHi starts to get really excited and scoots to the edge of the bed. Bo walks back over to him yet another struggle ensues. After HoHi is finally dressed his stomach grumbles and he looks at me. 

"Gyacer, I hungy. Get snak? Pease?" I nod and roll off the bed before helping HoHi down. Bo goes over and opens the door and I gently take his hoof in my hand and lead him to the stairs that lead to the deck. Bo goes on ahead of us and warns the already weary Elias that we are on our way as I help HoHi climb up the steps.

When we finally get up onto the deck HoHi pulls his hoof from my grasp and waddles around, trying to find the kitchen. After not being able to find it within twelve seconds he looks back over to me.

"Gyacer, wheye kitchen?" I point to the door where the kitchen is and he waddles towards it. Pushing the door open he peeks inside. "Knok knok, I is comin in now." He says before I push the door open enough that he can waddle in. Walking over to the table he tries to climb into a chair by himself. After a couple attempts Bo walks over and picks him up, setting him down a chair. HoHi wiggles excitedly in his seat as Elias walks over to the table.

"What can I make for ya kid?" Elias asks, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his prosthetics.

"Uhhhhh, sammich! Pease?" HoHi sees Elias' arms and his eyes widen. "Woah! You has wobot arms! So coo!" Elias smiles.

"Thanks kid. Now, what kind of sandwich would you like?" 

HoHi thanks for a second. "Can I has ham sammich? Pease?" 

"Sure. Captain Boy, Thunderbird, do you guys want something?" Elias asks, already getting HoHi's sandwich ready.

"Some eggs would be nice." Bo says. Knowing I was reaching my limit on not eating I sit across the table from HoHi, who repeatedly looks between us.

"Capan Boy? Tunderbirb? Why you call dem dat?" HoHi asks, confused by the nicknames.

"I call them that because I like to give people nicknames. Do you want a nickname?" Elias asks.

"Uh.... sure." He responds, sounding rather unsure.

"Then I'll call you.... Bluebell, how does that sound?" Elias asks. HoHi nods.

I get Elias' attention. "I could go for some ravioli, five cheese pasta, and maybe some squid sashimi. Think you can handle that?" Elias nods and lights the stove before passing HoHi his sandwich, who happily starts nibbling on it.

Bo sits down next to me and glances towards HoHi then back to me. "You sure you eat that much?"

"Compared to stuff I ate on the island I grew up on this order is miniature." My tone is rather snappy and I give Bo a look as if daring him to challenge me, instead I'm met with surprise.

"This? Miniature? What did you eat on that island?!" I can almost feel Elias' questioning stare.

"Crocodiles, bears, fish, deer, occasionally a tiger cub but only if I got lucky. There was also that time I caught a giant wild boar." 

Bo's jaw drops. "Are you serious?! Crocodiles? Bears? Tiger cubs!? Were you insane?"

"Everything about that island was insane. That's were Akagami first dropped me off, where Makino first lied to the Marines for me, where I met my brothers, where I lost one of them forever, and where my dream of becoming a pirate began." My tone had become sullen and the kitchen had gone silent. Elias places a plate of eggs in front of Bo and starts with my food.

HoHi looks up from sandwich. "Who is Agagami? And who is Makino?"

"Two people who are very important to me and that I owe my life to." Bo nibbles on his eggs and HoHi just nods and starts eating his sandwich again. After awhile Elias sets down two bowls and plate.

The rest of that meal is spent in silence, all except for giggles from HoHi as he stares out the window, watching the seagulls fight over some scraps that Elias had tossed out for them.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

After eating everything he had asked for Glaceir gets up and exits the kitchen. HoHi starts to slide off of his chair but I stop him. 

"I no follow?" He gives me a confused look as I shake my head.

"No, Glaceir needs to be alone for a little bit." HoHi gives a sad look. "Want to go down to the library? Maybe Saprks can find you some more fun picture books." He nods and I help him down from the chair. Since I'm almost three times bigger than HoHi is I carry down below deck and to the library. As we pass by Glaceir's room HoHi stares at the door. Im guessing the doorless med bay caught his eye because he points at it.

"Whas dat?" He asks.

"That's where I do my job. I'm a doctor and that room has all my tools to make people better." I say pulling open the library door.

"Oh, I see...." HoHi says, not really paying attention as he looks around at all of the books. Saprks walks around the corner of the center bookshelf and over to us.

"And what brings you down here?" She asks, booping HoHi on the nose, making him giggle.

"Hoffen Himer wants to know if there's anymore picture books that he can look at." I set HoHi down and he stares up at Saprks.

"Pease? Can see mowe books?" Saprks smiles and nods.

"Lucky for you I just moved all the picture books onto a special small shelf, just for you." HoHi gets excited and follows Saprks to a small shelf. After looking at all the books he chooses one he looks around for somewhere to sit. After being shown an entire kid sized table he sits down. When she was sure that HoHi wasn't paying attention she turns to me. "What's the real reason you brought him down here? He's got books in Glaceir's sleeping quarters."

"I accidentally brought up some old memories, one of them not too good, and Glaceir needs some time to himself..." Saprks nods understandingly. We both look back to HoHi who is very interested in his picture book.

"Y'know, having that kid around might be good for Glaceir. From what I understand from what I've been told by you about his calls to his brothers is that he needs someone to take care of." I nod and she sighs. "But I can't be too sure."

"Yeah, we can still hope for the best though." I say and Saprks nods. HoHi calls me over to ask about one of the pictures in his book.

"I nevew got to now youw name Mistew." HoHi says, looking up at me as I sit on the floor next to his small chair. "Aso why you so tall?"

"My name is Bo, and I don't know why I'm tall." I lean back on hands.

"Oh, otay. Can I see da dotor room?" He sets his book down. "Pease? I wan know more bout dogtor stuffs." I chuckle and pick him up and carried him to the med bay. The next while is spent talking about what I do.


	45. Itsa Babey pt.2/ Relationship Development?

*Bartholemew's P.O.V.*

I've spent the last couple hours in my workroom trying to hammer out the Plagsmore Bo found into a blade big enough for an eight foot long bisento. Most people would say that's too big but at this point in time Bo is around 6'8" and he's still got four, maybe five years before he's fully grown, so I'm planning ahead to make sure he'll never have to get it replaced.

As I'm putting the ore in the forge for the umpteenth time there's a knock at the entrance. Setting my tools down I turn my head to see who it is. Standing at the entrance is a small baby sized deer. 

"Hemlo, I is HoHi. Can come iside?" He looks at me with his wide eyes. I recognize him from earlier.

"Uh, sure I guess." I stand up and walk over to him, picking him up and setting him on my chair. "It's kinda dangerous in here so don't get off the chair, okay?"

"Otay. Whas is dis place fow?" He asks, looking around the small room. "Sur is wawm in heye."

"Well, this is my workroom. In here is where I build stuff like Elias' arms and weapons." I say getting back to forging Bo's bisento. "And the warmth is coming from my forging stove."

"You was da one dat made da supew coo awms? Wow...." the kid looks down at the chair. Since it was close to the table the kid grabbed the edge and pulled himself up so that he was standing and able to climb up on it. "Wat kins of weapons dos you make?"

Since him climbing up on the table wasn't to worrying I let him stay there. "Well kid, I can make all kinds of weapons. Why are you asking?"

"Earler I taw a swowd in Gyaceir's room and he towd me dat you made it." He crawls over to the edge and sits down. "I used to play wis a fake bow and arrow on da island."

"Oh? Did you like playing with it?" I look over at him and he nods. "You could always ask Glaceir to teach you how to use a real one."

"Gyaceir know how to use a bow?" I give a quick nod and his eyes get wide. "Dos he know how to use a boomstick?"

"Boomstick? You mean a gun?" The kid nods and I get a little worried. "Yes, he learned how to use one when he was a kid, just a little younger then you I suppose." 

"You tink he could teach me how use dem? A bow and a boomstick?" I stop what I'm doing and turn to face HoHi.

"I'm sure he could but why would you want to learn? You're still just a kid after all." HoHi makes a humpf noise, crossing his arms and pouting. I sigh and cross my arms as well and let my head tilt slightly to the left. "Fine, ask him then, if he says yes I'll make you a bow, okay?" 

HoHi gets excited and he nods. "Hep get down?" He asks and I pick him up and set him on the ground. He waddles off hurriedly to go find Glaceir and I went back to work.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Bo came in to check on me after having left HoHi with Saprks. When he walked in I was looking through the scrapbook I had made before having left Dawn Island. Sitting next to me apologizes for dragging up an old memory. I said nothing, instead I tilted the scrapbook to show him a picture of me and my brothers doing what it was we do best, helping each other train to become better fighters. He stares at the photo for a second.

"Can.... can I look at the other pictures?" I nod and hand him the scrapbook. "Can I look from the beginning?" I nod again and he gently flips to the front. I watch as he takes the time to really look at the photos. Eventually he gets to the two pages dedicated to the burial and mourning of Tophat and after a second he carefully hands the scrapbook back.

That's when we hear a knock on the door and a muffled "Is HoHi! Can come in now?" Bo looks at me and I nod. I slip the scrapbook under my bed as Bo goes and opens the door to let HoHi in. As soon as the door is open HoHi waddles in and over to my bed and tries to climb up on it. I reach down and help him up. 

After he was all the way on the bed he looks at me with wide eyes. "Dos know how use bow? Can teach me?" He asks. At first I tell him no and that I wouldn't do it but then he looks me with the biggest puppy-dog eyes and I cave, telling him that I would help teach him when we can get him a bow. He then cheered and crawled off the bed and waddles out of the room saying something about him going to talk to Bartholomew.

Bo chuckles as he sits back down next to me. "You just can't say no to kids can you?" I huff and turn my back to him. "Hey, I didn't mean anything bad by that." Bo says with a playful yet defensive tone. When I continued to ignore him he wraps his arms around me and pulls me down.

One short scuffle later and Bo is laying on top of me to stop me from moving. "No fair Bo! You're nearly three times heavier than I am!" I say, struggling to push him off. After a few moments I pause and realize just how close we are, my face flushing slightly. It didn't bother me really, it was actually... nice to be like this. I'm not the only one who noticed either because Bo also has a flustered expression, and shortly after he moves off me and sits up. I sit up too and when I look at him he looks away.

"S-sorry..."

"It's fine." I say, shuffling the covers to bring them over me. I yawn and lay down.

"You gonna take a nap?" Bo asks and I respond with a sleepy nod. "I'm gonna go then and see what trouble HoHi has gotten himself into." He gets off the bed and exits my sleeping quarters, and as soon as he's gone my sleepiness slowly wears off as my paranoia about sleeping alone kicks in. Despite that I still shut my eye and took a nap.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

It's been ten minutes since I left Glaceir to have his nap and I had found HoHi pestering Bartholomew so I brought him down to the library. HoHi was telling me a story about about a ladybug and a frog, though I was tuning him out as I was still thinking about what happened earlier.

Suddenly there's a crash from Glaceir's room and me and Saprks look at each other. She comes over to sit with HoHi, who is very confused, and I bolt out and over to his room. Opening the door I found a shattered vase on the floor and Glaceir curled up underneath a blanket with his head hidden underneath his pillow.

I approach him slowly and can hear him sobbing. Carefully, I reach over and tug gently on the pillow, and to my surprise Glaceir pushes away screaming, his sobs worsening. Releasing the pillow I take a seat at the edge of the bed and start speaking in a soft tone to try and calm him down. Two minutes later he finally lets go of his pillow and practically lunges at me, hugging me tightly and sobbing into my shirt.

Glaceir was like this for two minutes before he finally calmed down enough for his words to be understandable.

"Don't..... don't leave...." he says through hiccups. "Please.... Sabo please..." It then clicks to me that he's having a nightmare and I start to softly rub his back. "Sabo no.... please.... no..." Glaceir finally opens his eye and wipes the tears off his face as he lets go me. "Sabo...?"

"No, it's me, Bo. You were having a nightmare." I say. Glaceir sniffs and tenses slightly.

"Yeah, I get those when I sleep alone..." when Glaceir says that it makes me feel bad cause I had left him alone.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have stayed..." Glaceir looks down at the bed.

"You seemed like you were uncomfortable and besides, you needed to check in HoHi..."


	46. Feelings???????

*Vixen's P.O.V.*

From my place in crows nest I can hear Glaceir sobbing in his sleeping quarters. I recognize Bo's frantic pawsteps racing into the room. I can't help but to feel worried about my little brother, but I do believe that he's in good paws so I keep my distance. Sliding down the latter I walk over to the helm.

"Hey Saps." I say, leaning against the chair Saprks is sitting in.

"Hello Vixie, whats up?" She asks, keeping her eyes on the water. I let out a bunch of garbled noises in place of a sentence and she gives a sympathetic glance. "Stressed?"

"Mayhaps. I think something bad happened to Glaceir. Bo's down there though so the situation should be taken care of..." I let out a hefty sigh and prop my head up with my arm.

"Upset that you're not the one to comfort your brother?" I freeze, grumble, and Saprks chuckles. "So that's the issue. It's probably best that you let Bo handle it, he's known Glaceir for longer than the rest of us, besides maybe Bartholomew that is, and he's a doctor."

I give Saprks a bit of a glare, knowing she's right. "Have you noticed how those two act around each other though? How.... flustered they get?"

"I have noticed. They've got feelings for each other and considering that they're teens it makes sense. And after hearing what Glaceir went through as a kid combined with being there for a part of it, I feel happy that he's found someone that he can trust and get close to the way he has with Bo." Saprks says, ignoring my glare. 

I stop and think for a moment before huffing. "You right, you right..."

*Switch to Armagedon's P.O.V.*

There is some weird noise coming from below deck. I can't tell what it is so I don't bother trying to figure it out. There's the sound of a plate clanking against the table as Elias places the snack I asked for in front of me. I nod my thanks as I gently feel around for the food. Eventually I get it and start nibbling on it. While I eat I hear the subtle footsteps of this ship's chef as he walks over to what I assume is a counter. There's a soft thud as if he had hit the counter and it concerns me slightly.

"Something wrong?" My hand hovers near the table.

"What? No, nothing's wrong. Why do you ask?" The chef asks.

"It sounded like you hit the counter." I tilt my head a little. 

"Oh, no I didn't hit the counter, just set my hand down is all. I lost my arms not to long ago and I'm still adjusting to these prosthetics and how heavy they are." He says, his voice holding a definitive tone. "Didn't you see them earlier?"

"I can't see very well so most observations I make are sound based." I toss the piece of food I was holding into my mouth. "So no, I didn't see them earlier."

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

My face flushes with embarrassment. "Oh my Seventh Ring of Saturn, I'm sorry I didn't notice sooner." Armagedon smiles and continues to eat.

"It's fine, it's natural for us Axolotl fishmen to be blind, we are deep sea cave dwellers after all." He says matter-of-factly. "When you live in a place with no light sight becomes useless. At best I can tell the difference between light and dark."

"It's probably gonna be difficult to be a sword wielder then, isn't it?" I glance at his blades sitting on the table.

"It would be if I hadn't mastered Observation Haki. I'm also well attuned to the energy seastone produces, which is useful considering most Marines carry seastone bullets and seastone coated weapons."

"Oh cool, that makes.... four haki users! At least as far as I'm aware there's only four." Armagedon tilts his head in a confused manner. 

"Four? Who else uses Haki?"

"Captain boy is proficient in Observation and Conqueror's haki, though I haven't seen him use Arnement yet. BaJa can use Arnement and Observation and I did see him power through a wave of Conquerors but I don't know if he can use it. I mastered Arnement Haki." I lean against the counter.

"What about the boy with the light footsteps and the women who doesn't wear shoes?" He asks tossing a fry into his mouth.

"Ya mean Thunderbird and Foxy? No, they don't use any haki." 

"Then how are they able to tell what's going on across the ship?"

"Well, Thunderbird is a bobcat mink so his hearing is better than any human's hearing. Foxy has a devil fruit that makes her a fox yokai. Her ears are almost as big as her head so it makes sense that she can tell what's going on wherever."

"Oh, I get it." He tosses his last fry into his mouth.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

Me and Bo sit in silence for the next couple of minutes. He seems to be slightly uncomfortable. Not that I really blame though. As I sit and start zoning out Bo's voice drags me from my thoughts.

"I.... I have a question..." Bo says sheepishly, his ears pointing back.

"What is it?" I ask, feeling slightly worried about what he might be asking about.

"How open are you to dating.... boys....?" He asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I never really thought about it..." taking a moment to think. "I guess it depends on the boy."

"What if I were to be the one who asks?" 

"Is that a hypothetical question?" Bo freezes when I ask. "Cause if it's not my answer is yes..." my face flushes a bright red and Bo looks at me with a wide eye.

"R-really?" I nod and he lets out a relieved sigh before laying down beside me. Chuckling, I poke his side before flopping down on top of him causing him to squirm. "Hey! Get offa me!"

"No way! This is payback for earlier!" I say wrapping arms around him as he tries to squirm out from under me.


	47. Battle Boys

*Bartholomew's P.O.V.*

HoHi comes running back into my workroom saying that Glaceir agreed to teach him. I groan, already tired from trying to make Bo's bisento.

"I'll make you a bow then, but you'll have to wait until I finish Bo's weapon, okay?" HoHi nods and waddles off to do whatever while I get back to work.

I spend the next couple hours getting the blade to length while keeping the edge somewhat sharp. I swear to myself that I will never make another one of these because they are such a pain in the ass. Grumbling, I set what I have of the blade so far in a vat of water to keep it safe while I take a break. Grabbing Gigas I exit my workroom and head to the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Oi, seaweed rat, I'm hungry." I sit at the table across from Armagedon and lean Gigas against the wall behind me.

"Watch your manners BaJa or I might just let you starve. And what's with the giant hammer?" Elias snaps at me.

"You wouldn't let me starve, Glaceir would through a fit if ya did. And Gigas goes where I go unless I'm using Midian or Micross." I snap back.

"You two are sure hostile towards each other." Armagedon pipes up, sipping what looks to be tea. "I'm sure Glaceir wouldn't like to hear that his crew fighting amongst themselves."

Both of us go quiet and Elias turns to the stove. "What do you want BaJa?"

"Ramen." He gives me a glare. "Please." He sighs and fills a pot with water.  
————————————————————————  
*Cut to ten minutes later*

After giving me my bowl of ramen Elias sits next to Armagedon and they chat about Haki. I just stare out the large window at the water. Getting an eerie feeling in my gut and to ease myself I use my Observation Haki. As soon as I do I drop my spoon and drop my fork. Elias and Armagedon get worried look as I grab Gigas and run from the kitchen. I take a stance near the helm of the Shiversnake and can hear as Elias and Armagedon run up behind me.

"BaJa, what's going on? Why'd you bolt out of the kitchen?" Elias asks. I grab a small telescope from the inside of my coat and toss it to him.

"Take a look out there." I point to the horizon as Elias brings the telescope to his eye.

"What the hell?" He exclaims, tossing me back my telescope. "What are the Marines doin out here?"

"I don't know. I do have a bad feeling though. Its safe to say we should get ready for a battle." I grip Gigas tighter and small purplish-black and blueish-black flames begin to flicker at the end.

"How in the absolute fuck are you doing that?" Elias asks, pointing at the small flames.

"Hm? Oh those, those are Hell Phoenix flames that I have in Flame Dial. I've got a lot of them." I respond, realizing I needed to calm down.

"How? How did you manage to capture a Hell Phoenix's flame, let alone find one to begin with? And how are you able to use the dial when it's in the hammer head?" He asks with a bewildered expression.

I shrug. "I dunno, think I maybe found one as a baby. Regardless, I have found that it's flames last at least three years in Dials due to how potent they are. The dial is activated by pressure on the handle and the hammer head has lots of minuscule holes in it."

Elias just stares at me before sighing, probably giving up with the questions. At that exact moment the Marine ship fires it's cannons at us. In the blink of an eye I've raised Gigas like a baseball bat and swing it full force at the incoming cannon ball. It strikes with a loud crack as I send the cannon ball away from our ship. Elias sends another flying with a full-power kick. Armagedon takes a running leap off the side of the ship and cuts another two in half. When he lands in the water I watch as he swims quickly towards the Marines ship. At first I was confused, but as Armagedon swims back the Marines ship starts to sink and I let out a hearty chuckle, realizing that he had done some extreme damage.

After we made sure there were no more Marines we go back to kitchen and I finish my ramen and grab a bottle of rum before going back to work on Bo's bisento.


	48. 1/2 chapter: Slow Days

*Elias' P.O.V.*

I get up early enough to see BaJa come down from night watch. After pausing to watch him shuffle towards the sleeping quarters I continue my way into the kitchen.

I flick on the stove and start cooking up bacon and French toast. I open the freezer to grab the bacon and inside is none other then Hoffen Himer, the small deer kid that Glaceir took in, except right now he's in human form.

"Scuse me kid." I say nudging him a little. "I need the bacon."

The kid's eyes flutter open and he yawns. Reaching behind him he grabs the bacon and tosses it to me before going's back to sleep. Startled, I stand there for a few moments before going back to making breakfast.

————————————————————————  
Skip to Lunchtime.

*Vixen's P.O.V.*

We all gather in the kitchen for lunch. After the crew chats for awhile I try to grab their attention.

"So, I've got an important announcement thingy or whatever." Everyone turns to look at me. "The next island we come across is supposedly uninhabited."

"And?" Bartholomew asks.

"And, if it is uninhabited Glaceir can go and stretch his legs." I glance to Bartholomew. "He hasn't had the chance to use his devil fruit abilities, or just fighting abilities in general, for awhile now and I can see him getting antsy."

"Oh. Speaking of which, where is he? Even though he doesn't eat he typically comes to chat with us. Bo's not here either..." Elias says.

*Switch to Elias' P.O.V.*

After I point at the neither Captain Boy nor Thunderbird were with us Foxy gets a devilish grin.

"You're right, how have I not yet noticed?" She chuckles. 

"Vixie?" Saprks asks with a bit of a demanding tone. "Do you know where they are?"

"Well, we haven't seen them since last night, and they were together. I assume that's where they are still." 

"Yes, and if they are it's nothing new. We all know about Glaceir's sleep paranoia." BaJa says.

"But they both wake up at the break of dawn so they can do their duties, right?" She raises a brow and it clicks in our minds. Well, except for Bluebell of course, he just looks between us all and asks what's going on.

————————————————————————  
Skip to nighttime

*Vixen's P.O.V.*

It's shortly after dinner that those two stumble out from under bellow deck. They both look a little flustered as they shuffle towards the kitchen.

"And what have you boys been doing all day?" I call out.

"N-nothin Ms. Vixen..." Bo responds.

"Exactly, and that's why you're both taking night watch." Bartholomew chimes in. "I've done it the last couple nights so I am in need of a good rest."

The two boys nods and shuffle faster into the kitchen. Bartholomew and I glance at each other with a chuckle before doing our usual bedtime routines. I sort my maps, he cleans his hammers.


	49. Is that a clown?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of mushy, fluffy, feelings followed by anxiety and more mushy, fluffy feelings

*Bartholemew's P.O.V.*

It's been a couple days since we last landed at an island and Vixen tells us that we are coming up on an uninhabited island, and when Glaceir finds out he starts vibrating on the spot.

"Finally! I get to work my swordsmanship and my firearm skills!" He cheers.

"You know how to use firearms?" I ask.

"Of course I know how to use firearms. I spent quite a bit of time with Yasopp when Uncle Aka would visit Dawn Island." He crosses his arms rather confidently.

"Makes sense." I sigh. "Welp, I gotta get back to work on Bo's Bisento." I shuffle back into my workroom. 

I grumble as I grab the blade out of the water vat I had last left it in. As it comes up from the water I realize that the blade is actually as long as wanted it to be, I just didn't notice earlier due to exhaustion. Setting the blade on the work table I let out a relieved sigh and look to the large collection of wood in the corner. I walk over and choose the best quality piece, running my palm down it's smooth surface. 

I sit down and pull a purple hilt wrap from a desk drawer and set it next to me. Before I wrap the hilt though I have to add two metal bits at both ends and I'm so glad that I made them earlier. All it takes is a couple taps from a hammer and it's done. I attach the blade then wrap the hilt.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

Glaceir and I take HoHi out to the deck to play some games while everyone else does their thing. And by play some games I mean HoHi runs around chasing some gulls while Glaceir sits in my lap and naps. After a few minutes of this serenity the door of Bartholomew's work room opens. Glaceir wakes up to the sound of Bartholomew's footsteps as he approaches and he sits up. I look back at Bartholomew and to my surprise he's got something big in his hands.

"Here ya go Bo, The Sunset Bisento." He drops it from his hand and into mine. "Now never, and I mean never, break it cause I don't have the patience to work on it anymore ever." He says with a sigh. "I'm gonna take a nap before starting Hoffen Himer's bow." He grumbles, stumbling off towards the community bedroom. 

After giving it a quick look-over I set it down beside me and Glaceir leaned into me and soon fell back asleep. HoHi, excited to what Bartholomew made, stops chasing the gulls and wobbles over to look at it.

"Wow, iss so big! Why's it so big?" He asks.

"It's big because it's my weapon, though it's kinda to big for me to use right now. He probably made it in hopes that I get a growth spurt." 

"Oh, otay. I chase da birds now." HoHi says, sprinting over to the railing to scare the gulls. This goes on for hours and eventually I succumb to my own drowsiness.

*Switch to Vixen's P.O.V.*

As we come close to the island I go out to the deck to get the boys and, to my surprise, instead find a nap pile. I can't help but chuckle seeing Glaceir sandwiched in between Bo and HoHi. I kinda wanna just leave them like this but unfortunately I do have to get them up. I shake HoHi's shoulder gently and whisper that it's time to get up. Shortly after Glaceir wakes up as well and I inform him that we're approaching our destination. He sits up excitedly while still on Bo and Bo grunts awake in what seems like pain.

"You okay Bo?" I ask. He nods, a trying smile on his face. "Are you sure? It sounded like you were in a lot of pain when Glaceir sat up...."

"I'm fine, I promise..." he says, looking away.

*Switch to Glaceir's P.O.V.*

There's a flare of pain in Bo's tone and I can tell he's lying. After Vixen takes off with HoHi I grab the sides of his face and make him look me in the eye.

"Bo, what's wrong? Why are you hurting?" I ask in a soft, gentle tone. "You would tell me if there was something really bad, wouldn't you?" 

"I would, but there is nothing wrong with me, nothing to worry about at least." He responds, just and soft and gentle.

"Alright, if you say so." I say, letting my hands fall to his shoulders. He smiles and stands up, picking me up and carrying me to the kitchen so we can prepare for our island trip.

Vixen had placed to backpacks on the table for us to use. Bo packs his bag with jars of water, a blanket, and some food. I pack my bag with mini bottles of whiskey, rum, tequila, and vodka, my small wooden chest, and a couple rounds of ammunition. With my sword tucked into my belt loop and my pistol tucked into its case I toss my bag over my shoulder and check to see if Bo is ready.

As soon as we drop anchor Bo and I are off into the woods, ready to practice the use of our weapons. We explore until we find a large clearing in which we set our stuff near an old stump. Walking out into the center of the clearing I draw my sword and swing it into the open air while Bo sets out the blanket.

"Oh captain, my captain, care for a sparring bout?" Bo asks, walking up behind me.

Looking back with a smile I nod. "Oh absolutely my wondrous companion." I quickly get into a fighting stance and the sparring starts. This bout last for hours before Bo gives in. We return to our blanket where Bo takes off his shirt and lays in the shade, trying to cool himself down. I also ditch my shirt because the heat is killing me.

I can't help but stare at Bo, and eventually Bo catches onto my staring and he lets out a rumbly meow. Realizing I've been caught my face flushes a bright red and I look to the ground. He starts chuckling and rests his head on his paws.

"Ya seeing something stare-worthy?" He asks playfully. "Or are you too small to see?" He pushes me over and holds himself above me.

"Asshole! I'm not that small!" In an act of playful aggression I flip our positions and sit on his stomach. "Besides" I lean my face down a few inches from his, "I'm stronger than you." We both giggle a little and go in for a kiss before-

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

Bo and I both jump in fear and look to the source of the voice. Standing in the middle of the clearing is a tall man with blue hair, jingle bell earrings, and turquoise circles on his cheeks. The man is wearing a suit, which is weird cause he looks like he should be a clown.

"You know what, I'll just go..." the man turns and leaves.

After a few seconds of silence Bo wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me in for the kiss that was so rudely interrupted. At this point I'm starting to feel anxious and tuck my face into his neck. In an attempt to calm me down he rubs my back a little and mumbles sweet nothings in my ear. He sits up, still holding me against him, and he reaches into my bag and grabs me a one of my little bottles. After a drink I felt better and we went back to what we had only just started.

On our way back to the Shiversnake Bo and I walk hand in hand, Bo occasionally pointing out nice rocks for my collection. We get to the shore and who do we see but the same man from earlier, now talking to Vixen. The man sees us and looks away and Vixen gives us weird look and we hurry to our room.

*Switch to Bo's P.O.V.*

The man joins us for dinner and I feel relieved that he doesn't bring up what he saw earlier. He seems like a good guy, says his name is Blimzy Blimzo. He explains his clown-like appearance and also, turns out he's a hitman so there's that.

After I finished my food Glaceir and I go back to our room for the night. He flops onto the bed and after taking my shirt off I flop next to him. Glaceir rolls over and rests his head on my shoulder.

"I noticed these scars earlier, what are they from?" He asks, gently running his fingers over the scars crossing my torso.

"I got them as a kid. Some of my organs were failing so they were replaced by machines. Sometimes though they stop working and I need someone to do surgery and repair them." I respond. "That or I need to find someone who can improve them..."

"Is there a way for me to tell if they stop working?" He asks, a sudden yet expected worried expression.

"They make a ticking noise. If you can hear the ticking it means I'm fine." He nods and relaxes a little, laying his head over one of the scars.

"It's a relaxing sound, the ticking noise. At least now that I am aware it, it reminds me of a ticking clock..." he says. Tilting his head up he places a kiss on my chin. "Goodnight BoBo..." he says, slipping into sleep.

"Goodnight Glace..."


End file.
